Broken
by beautifulqueenx
Summary: Two stubborn souls are separated because of one huge fight and one drunken mistake. They meet again years later and realize that love and sparks are far from gone. Regrets, tears and frustration follow Enjolras and Eponine as they fight their feelings for one another. Can they ever be reunited? Will they fix this seemingly broken relationship? Or will they let it remain broken?
1. The One With The Break Up

**Summary:** Eponine and Enjolras was a lovely couple until they had a huge fight and Enjolras did an unforgivable thing. He could not let her go; he refused to let her go. Could Eponine forgive him? Could they fix this seemingly broken relationship?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Les Miserables but it's awesome and I wish I can write something just as awesome.

**Broken**

Eponine ran into the apartment she shared with Enjolras and slammed the door shut. She locked it and slumped into the floor, breaking into hysterical sobs. I am never going to believe in anyone ever again, Eponine said to herself. She had no one to blame but herself. She's the one who got herself into this mess. She's the one who trusted too much, loved too much. Enjolras was her soul mate, the love of her life and she used to believe that they would spend the rest of their lives together. However, it's all ruined now.

She should have known that she could trust no one and she cursed herself for falling in love and letting her guards down. Didn't she learn enough from Marius? Didn't she swear that heartbreak is the worst feeling one could ever feel and she would never let herself go through another one? Nothing good ever came when she fell in love. She was always the one who ended up hurt, not anyone else and she wondered why she kept doing that to herself.

Eponine Thenardier was so deep into her self-loathing moment that she didn't hear the knock on the door. It was until Enjolras knocked the door harder and called her name that Eponine was brought out of her reverie.

"Eponine! Please open the door!" called Enjolras from outside.

"Leave me alone Enjolras! I … I have absolutely nothing to say to you," said Eponine and she sounded so small and dejected that Enjolras' heart clenched. He wanted to just break the door and held her in his arms to comfort her, to tell her how much he loved her and how sorry he was that he hurt her. He made a big mistake and he was afraid that she would never forgive him for this. The thought of losing her was almost too much to take. He must try to get her to forgive him. They could make this thing work. They're Enjolras and Eponine; they could get through anything when they're together, right?

"Eponine, please," pleaded Enjolras, in a voice that used to make Eponine's heart melt but now it did nothing but hurt her even more. Should she open the door? Should she listen to him?

"Eponine, please, open the door. We need to talk about this," he also sounded like he was on the verge of crying himself.

Talk? Talk? What was there to talk about? He cheated on her, he slept with someone else and he wanted to talk? What could he possibly have to say for himself?

Eponine opened the door. Standing in front of her was Enjolras. His eyes were red and he looked ghastly. She glared at him and Enjolras could not help but to feel a little bit scared of her. Her eyes were so icy and cold that Enjolras had to take a step back because he had never seen Eponine like that. She used to look at him with so much admiration and love and now there were nothing in her eyes but anger and hatred.

Eponine was never the one to get mad easily. She only got mad when someone really screwed up. He knew he screwed everything up this time and now he was going to lose her forever and he could not deal with that. He refused to accept that. He could not lose Eponine. She was the love of his life, she was everything that mattered to him. If he let her go, he didn't think he would live, he didn't think he would ever be happy again. He had to convince her to stay. Their relationship was too precious for him to lose.

"You wanted to talk? Talk," said Eponine. She was shaking and tears still stained on her cheeks. Enjolras opened and closed his mouth like a fish, he was speechless and his ever admired ability in making talks and speeches was gone as she stared at him. He did not know what to say. What do you say when you messed everything up but you're not ready to lose everything you have?

"Please, let me come in,"

Eponine turned around and got into the apartment, leaving the door opened. Enjolras breathed a sigh of relief and followed her in. He was closing the door and was turning around when Eponine kicked him hard… in his crotch. God, Eponine was strong. The pain was unbelievable.

"Ow! What the hell, Eponine?!" he looked up to see Eponine, who with crossed arms, raised an eyebrow, "Okay, I guess I deserved that," whimpered Enjolras. He was trying to recover from the blinding pain in his crotch when Eponine slapped him across the face. She was about to slap him again when he asked her to stop.

"Please, stop!"

Eponine stilled. She was silent but somehow Enjolras preferred if she started to scream at him. Her silence meant she could not care anymore. Her silence meant she could not care less about what Enjolras would do anymore. Her silence meant he had lost her.

She walked towards the living room and Enjolras stood up. Suddenly he saw a vase coming right at him and he ducked just in time, avoiding it from hitting him square in the face. He barely got a moment to breathe when one, two, three books were thrown at him and one hit its aim, which was Enjolras' shoulder. He yelped in pain and decided he could not take it anymore. When he said that they needed to talk, he didn't mean him getting severely injured. Enjolras took five long strides towards Eponine and caught her hands in his before she managed to grab anything else to throw. She shouted obscenities towards him, calling him all sorts of hurtful names she could think of as she tried to release herself from Enjolras' grip.

"Eponine, calm down! Please! Calm down!"

"NO! You fucking bastard! I cannot even look at you right now. You can go to hell because I have nothing to say to you and I want to hear nothing from you! We're over, Enjolras! We're over and I want you out of this house now! I don't ever, ever want see your face again!" she cried as she said the last sentence and Enjolras released her from his grip. She sat on the couch and sobbed.

It's over? Was that it? For five years they were together and that's it? No. He refused to accept that.

"Eponine, I made a mistake and I regret it. I love you and that night with that girl was nothing more but a drunken mistake. I was so upset because of our fight and …"

Eponine scoffed.

"You can't be serious. We had one big fight, Enjolras and we fought because of something that we both could discuss when we have calmed down. I had known you as a reasonable man, Enjolras and I can't believe that you would think…"

"What was I supposed to think?" Enjolras started.

"Gee, I don't know. Maybe give me some time and believe that I am going to always want to be with you? Or… I don't know, maybe _not_ go the bar and bang the first girl you see?" Eponine said sarcastically, she still refused to look at him but Enjolras was quite relieved that she was calmer. It's easier to reason with Eponine when she's calm.

"I am sorry. I am so, so, _so_ sorry and I cannot even begin to tell you how sorry I am right now. I love you, Eponine and I don't want to lose you," Enjolras kneeled in front of her, holding her hands tightly. He could not bear the thought of losing her. She was the only woman he had ever loved, the only one who truly understood him, who accepted his flaws, who loved him just as much as she argued with him, who got into his heart just like she got to his nerves. She was the one who proved that he was more than just the ever flawless marble man like his friends said and he could not imagine having to live without her.

"Please… please don't leave me"

"You know what hurts the most?" she said, and their eyes met, "It is that you didn't believe that I would say yes. You did not believe that I love you because if you did, you wouldn't do what you did. When I got into Musain this evening, I was happy because I finally made up my mind. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you and I didn't care about any difficulties that we're going to face because we're invincible when we're together. I was about to say yes. I was about to say yes before you told me…" she choked, "before you told me that you slept with someone else"

Eponine started crying again. Her heart was broken. She was about to lose the love of her life. She did not want to let him go but could she ever trust him again? Trust is the foundation of every relationship and with that broken, she did not think that this relationship could survive. She could never trust her Enjolras again and that hurt so badly.

"Enjolras," Eponine started, Enjolras looked up hopefully but Eponine said something that broke his heart into millions of tiny pieces, "you can have the apartment. I am going to Cosette's house," Eponine got up from the couch and went to the bedroom, leaving Enjolras devastated listening to the finality in her tone.

…

"_Hey there pretty boy. Are you alone?" a gorgeous woman in miniskirt and tank top approached Enjolras at the bar. _

_Enjolras ignored her and continued drinking his Vodka. His mind wandered back to Eponine. He had ignored her calls and texts all night after their big fight. Enjolras and Eponine always fought but this had to be the worst fight they ever had. They both realized that they wanted different things. Enjolras wanted to get married but Eponine wanted to take her time with their relationship. Enjolras wanted to have babies and move to suburbs but Eponine could not imagine herself raising a child because she was too afraid that she would turn up like her horrible mother. They both wanted different things but both were too stubborn to compromise. Enjolras felt like he was in a relationship that led nowhere and he could not have that. In the end, he asked Eponine whether she would want to settle down with him someday and she kept quiet. With that, Enjolras stormed out of their apartment and went to this bar._

"_You wanna dance?" the woman asked again. She wiggled her eyebrows at Enjolras. _

"_Why not?" Enjolras let her take his hand and led him to the dance floor. He didn't really feel like dancing but he needed to get Eponine out of his mind. He needed to forget this sinking feeling in his chest._

_They danced for God knows how long. Everything was blurry but he remembered that the woman was fun to dance with and when they're done dancing, she leaned in and kissed him. He kissed her back. _

…

_Enjolras woke up in an unfamiliar bed. He turned and saw the woman from yesterday sleeping beside him. A moment of panic struck him when he realized that they're both naked. He rushed to pick his clothes and ran out the door. Yes, the girl managed to get Eponine out of his mind last night and after all that he did with her, he might be going to have Eponine out of his life too, and he realized that that was far from what he wanted._

…

"_No, not another fight! God, you two are infuriating!" Cosette exclaimed. In front of her right now was Eponine and she looked like a total mess. She could not sleep, she could not eat and she spent her entire night trying to reach Enjolras. She had never seen him so upset with her. She was terrified at the thought that he was going to break up with her. She loved him too much to let him go._

"_Cosette, it was horrible," Eponine sobbed "I have never seen him so angry and now he's nowhere to be found and I'm afraid that he might do something stupid. I can't lose him, Cosette, I can't!"_

"_Eponine, this is Enjolras we're talking about. He's not going to do anything stupid, he's far too wise and too boring to even get drunk. Don't worry, once he has calmed down, he's going to come home," Cosette tried to comfort her distressed best friend._

_Eponine wiped her tear and attempted to compose herself. She succeeded in the first few seconds but then she cried again. Cosette rolled her eyes and put her arms around her, trying her best to comfort her._

_Cosette was never a fan of Enjolras. She thought that Eponine deserved better. Eponine had a rough childhood and even a rougher time growing up. Compared to her, Cosette felt little because she knew that she was not strong enough to go through anything that Eponine went through. Her best friend was a strong woman, a woman she looked up to and grew protective of and when Eponine first got together with Enjolras, Cosette gave him a fair warning._

_She told him that if he hurt her best friend in any way possible, he was going to have to deal with her wrath. Not the Les Amis' wrath, not Marius' wrath but her, the so-called sweet and innocent Cosette Fauchlevant and she swore that she was going to make his life a living hell. Enjolras scoffed at first but Marius gave him a look, and he realized that Cosette was not kidding. He then promised her that he would never break Eponine's heart and assured her that he was going to take a good care of Eponine. Cosette was comforted._

_As she was trying to console Eponine, Cosette cursed Enjolras under her breath._

_Once Eponine calmed down, Cosette got up and made her a cup of hot chocolate. Eponine gratefully took a sip and there were colour in her cheeks again. _

"_Alright, now would you tell me what happened?"_

_Eponine sighed._

"_I was reorganizing our wardrobe and in his drawer, I found… I found an engagement ring," Cosette gasped. Eponine nodded her head and continued, "Yes, he was going to propose! And I panicked. I didn't know how long had I been staring at that ring and when I turned around, I saw Enjolras already standing behind me."_

"_I asked him about the ring and he confessed that he was going to propose and I freaked out. I told him that it was too soon and…"_

"_What do you mean, "Too soon"? It's not like you've been going out for 5 months. It has been 5 years" Cosette said. She could not believe that she's taking Enjolras' side in this._

"_I know but I enjoy things the way they are. I don't need to be married to show that I love him and only him. Why does he have to make things complicated?!"_

_Cosette sighed. She may not like Enjolras but she could see how much he admired Eponine. She was happy to hear that he wanted to take things with Eponine further and she could see that although they always fight, he made Eponine happier that she had ever been. She held Eponine's hand in hers and looked straight into her eyes, "Honey, do you love him?"_

"_What do you mean? Of course I do!"_

"_Honey, he wants to spend the rest of his life with you. This is Enjolras, who was an asshole who cared nothing but his cause to make this world a better place, until you came along and showed him that there are more to life than just his cause. This is Enjolras, who was the jackass who made fun of my boyfriend for falling in love but in the end fall so hopelessly in love with you and wants to make you his. It is obvious that you're the only one for him, Eponine and he wants to prove that by marrying you. Why are you so freaked out? If you love him, you wouldn't react like this!"_

_Eponine took her hands away from Cosette's and glared at her._

"_Because, Cosette, it is my nature to screw things up! What if we get married and I become a horrible wife like my mother? What if I make his life miserable? What if we have a child and I fucked up? We are perfectly happy right now, Cosette and I am afraid that by taking things further, everything we have built for five years will come tumbling down. I can't have that!" Eponine cried. _

"_For fuck's sake, woman, get your shit together!" Cosette exclaimed and Eponine jumped. Cosette was never the person who cursed a lot and she was never the one to raise her voice at Eponine either. However, right now, she looked so frustrated and tired of her problems, as if she had enough of it._

"_I've had enough of this. You and Enjolras are perfect together. Yeah, it's a surprise as it came from me," she added when Eponine looked at her as if she had sprouted wings, "but you guys love each other so much and the love that you guys share is beautiful. And you are not going to screw up, Eponine. No. You have grown so much and you are nothing like your parents. You took care of Gavroche and he turned out to be such a lovely boy. Your past should stay in the past, don't let it affect your future. You love Enjolras, and he loves you. And I know, deep down, you want to commit to him but you're afraid to do so."_

_Eponine kept quiet. Too many thought were occupying her mind. She thought of Enjolras and how hurt he looked when she told him that she didn't want to get married. Did she want to get married actually? Could she see herself as a wife? _

_Then, she pictured herself standing at the door of their baby's nursery, looking at Enjolras trying to put their daughter to sleep. He looked up and smiled at her, his smile made her heart flutter and even after years, she realized that the same smile would still give her butterflies in her stomach and she knew no one could ever make her feel like Enjolras did. Yes, she wanted to be with him and only him and if he wanted to take things further, she's going to follow him._

"_You're right… you're absolutely right. I need to find Enjolras," Eponine said and suddenly stood and reached for her handbag. Cosette smiled as Eponine fumbled with the contents of her handbag to find her phone._

_She got her phone and sent a text to Enjolras to meet her Café Musain. She turned to Cosette and said, "Thank you,"_

…

"_Enjolras," Eponine said breathlessly as she was just running to the café. To her relief, Enjolras was already there. He looked solemn but she thought she could put a stop to that. She was about to kiss him when Enjolras took her hand and signalled her to sit next to him. She was about to say something when she realized that Enjolras was in tears. _

"_Enjolras, what's going on?"_

_She had known Enjolras for a long time and she never saw him this vulnerable and scared. He was shivering and his eyes were red. His hair was dishevelled and he looked so out of place. Eponine was beginning to get really worried._

"_I did a really, really bad thing" Enjolras said._

_Eponine wondered what he did. This was Enjolras and although he's also human and made mistakes, his mistakes were never too big to turn him into this mess of a man. Eponine took his hands in hers and cupped his chin, making him look at her._

"_Enjolras, it's me. You can tell me anything"_

_If she was trying to comfort him, it wasn't working. Enjolras took his hands away from her and buried his head in them. He shook his head, as if he wished that this was all a dream, a nightmare and he would wake up and be anywhere but there._

_After a few minutes, he looked up and saw Eponine still staring at him. She looked concerned and worried, making him feel even guiltier. He had to tell her, he had to. This beautiful woman in front of him deserved the truth. He was afraid to lose her but hiding the truth from her was not a choice. If he truly loved her, he would be honest with her._

"_Last night, I… I slept with someone else" Enjolras confessed._

_His words were like a slap to her face. She was shocked. No, no, not her Enjolras. She looked around. Was this some kind of sick joke? Would Les Amis suddenly jumped out from the counter and said "Ha! Gotcha!"?_

_And then she looked into his ocean blue eyes and her heart shattered into pieces. Enjolras never lied. He's telling the truth. He knew how much she loathed cheaters and he promised her that he would never cheat on her. Montparnasse cheated on her and he beat the shit out of him. Now, he's the one who cheated on her, he's the one who slept with someone else. It's like Montparnasse all over again except that this hurt much more because she actually loved the man in front of her. Before she knew it, she started to cry. Enjolras moved closer to her but she swatted his hands away. _

"_Stay away from me," she hissed._

"_Eponine, I'm sorry. I… I feel terrible. I don't want to lose you. Please, please don't leave me,"_

_Everything that he said was like a dagger in her. And she thought about Enjolras with this girl. Who was this girl? Did it matter anyway? Now, she looked at him and she could see nothing but betrayal. She could not see anything but him with this stranger in a mass of tangled limbs. His lips kissing this stranger, forgetting all about her, not caring about her feelings. Did he even remember her? Did he even remember what they had? Honestly, did it even matter to him?_

"_I have to go," Eponine said and dashed out of the café._

…

Enjolras' mind was spinning. He heard Eponine moving in the bedroom, closets opened and closed, drawers opened and shut and he knew that in a few minutes, she was going to walk out of their apartment and he would lose her forever.

What would he do without her? Being with her was the best time of his life. He had never laughed so much. He had never been so happy. Eponine was perfect and he wondered whether anyone would even come close to replacing her.

Replacing her? No, there's no replacing her.

He thought about what could have been. If he let her out of the door, it's official that they would be broken up. She would start to move on with her life. After some time, she would start to date someone else. The thought of Eponine dating someone else made him sick in his stomach. Seriously, could he even handle seeing her with someone else? What if he treated her better than he did? What if she fell deeper in love with that guy? What if they got married?

Would they still be friends? Would he still be friends with Les Amis, really? Would they forgive him for cheating on Eponine? Cosette never would, he thought. She was going to make his life a living hell, as if it wasn't bad enough because Eponine was not in it.

"Enjolras, I'll leave my key on this table. If I had left anything, just put them together in a box and I'll get them some other time" Eponine said quietly. She had finished packing and she looked sadly at the dejected man on the living room's couch.

Enjolras lifted his head. Eponine was looking at her feet, looking as though it was killing her that she had to leave and Enjolras got up and strolled towards her. He had nothing to say to justify his actions but he needed to prove to her how much he loved her. So he pulled her to him and kissed her with all that he has got. She kissed him back and he melted under her touch. She fit so right in his arms and he did not want to let her go. He could not let her go. He couldn't.

Eponine suddenly pulled back.

"I… I can't, Enjolras,"

"Why? Eponine, you know that girl meant nothing to me. I love you and only you. Please, please don't leave me. I don't know what I would do without you," he kneeled before her, hugging her frame and was sobbing uncontrollably right now. She's slipping away from him so he held to her tighter.

"No, this is all ruined, Enjolras. We're over. I used to see you as someone who would never, ever hurt me. And now, you would be no one but the only who betrayed me. I can't be with you anymore, Enjolras," she sniffled.

"This… this is goodbye," she added and Enjolras felt like he was punched in the gut. In fact, it was worse. He felt like he was punched repeatedly. It hurt. He knew that he lost her forever now and it hurt.

Just like that, she grabbed her bags and walked out of the door. She's gone. It's all over.

Enjolras sunk to the floor and wept. Everything fell apart because of him. He had a perfect girl whom he loved but he fucked it all up. It's all because he was too stupid to not believe that Eponine loved him. And now… she's gone forever and there's nothing he could do to bring her back. He should've said no and came back to her that night. If he did, he would not feel as terrible as he was feeling. The guilt and remorse were killing him and he could have done nothing to stop it.

Nothing, absolutely nothing.

**A/N:** So…. what do you think? Writing an Enjonine fan fiction is not easy but I love this pairing so much and I tried my best. Anyway, this story started as a one-shot but I am thinking of making a multi-chapter fic. What do you think? Is it good enough to be turned into a multi-chapter fic?


	2. The One When He Finally Broke

**Chapter 2**

_Eponine was never the kind of person who gave other people second chances. No, she had been through a lot in her life and she refused to let anybody hurt her more than once. So, when she left Enjolras, she really left him and she did not turn back._

Enjolras lied on his bed, replaying the events that happened the night he and Eponine broke up. It had been two weeks, two weeks of misery, two weeks of emptiness. The worst of all is that it had been two weeks without any news from Eponine. He called and texted her every day, begging her to come back but there was not a single reply from her.

Enjolras tried to convince himself that he would be okay. After all, he was not the kind of man who would isolate himself in his apartment and weep about his ex-girlfriend. Therefore, the morning after their break-up, he still managed to get up early in the morning, made himself a simple breakfast, went to work and would not go home until it's really late. He refused to let himself grieve. Enjolras kept telling himself that he had more pressing matter to do than to think about Eponine. He avoided his friends because he did not want to hear them being angry at him for making such a bad judgment. He ignored their texts and their calls but after over two hundred missed calls, he had enough and sent them texts saying that he needed some time alone.

He thought that they would never forgive him for what he did to Eponine. He didn't deserve their forgiveness anyway. After all, he figured that he deserved to be left alone, he deserved every punches and throws that he got, and he deserved all unhappiness in life because he used to have everything but he blew them for one night of drunken hook-up. He deserved nothing so he spent most of his time being immersed in his work.

Nevertheless, every night, Enjolras would lie on his bed like he was doing right now, replaying the nightmarish event of the night he lost the love of his life, torturing himself for what he did to her, refusing to forgive himself. He did not cry anymore, in fact, he felt absolutely numb towards everything. His temper got really short and everything annoyed him because he had no one to cool him down. He did not remember the last time he smiled. He was unhappy. He was so unhappy that he didn't think he could ever feel happy again. He missed his Eponine. He needed his Eponine.

So he slept at night with a dull ache in his chest, longing for a woman whom he hadn't heard about in two weeks. The woman who disappeared without any trace. The woman whom he knew was moving on with her life without him in it.

… And it really, really hurt.

…

This sulking attitude from Enjolras only lasted for a week.

Enjolras was working in his office when Courfeyrac came in to hand him the contract that Enjolras told him to check. He was clearly so hurt and pissed off by Enjolras' cold demeanour towards him and his friends so he threw the contract on Enjolras' table and without saying a word, he went to the door to get out of Enjolras' office. Enjolras decided to not say anything to him.

However, Courfeyrac suddenly stopped at the door, shaking his head, contemplating whether he should say something. Finally, he turned around and slammed the door behind him, getting Enjolras' attention. After a week keeping his silence, Courfeyrac decided that he could not continue with this anymore so he needed to speak his mind. Enjolras stared at him but when Courfeyrac struggled to find words to express his dissatisfaction, Enjolras went back to his papers.

"Is this how it's going to be from now on, Enjolras?" Courfeyrac asked, sounding exasperated.

Enjolras did not look up from his paper.

"Oh, so you're ignoring me now. Enjolras, we care about you," he said, "I know we don't say it enough but all of us care about you, man. We love you. Combeferre and I had been worried sick. You wouldn't talk to us, you wouldn't talk to anyone. You cannot keep everything to yourself. You will go mad! Please, stop. Stop with all this. Just because Eponine left you, doesn't mean we all will. You're our friend, Enjolras."

Enjolras suddenly put down his pen and glared at him, feeling impatient. He had a lot of work to do now and the last thing he needed to handle now was his friend's emotional outburst. It's better to not feel anything and he intended to do just that.

"My personal business is none of your concern, Courf. Now if you'll excuse me," Enjolras said as he got out of his chair, "I have work to do," he strode towards the door and opened it for Courfeyrac, signalling that he wanted him to leave.

Courfeyrac shook his head in disbelief. He chuckled bitterly.

"Unbelievable. Years and years building this friendship and it all tumbled down because of your _idiocy_," Courfeyrac said. Enjolras turned his head to see Courfeyrac looking both hurt and annoyed.

"You know who you are? You are a selfish _bastard_ who cared about nothing but yourself. A self-indulgent, workaholic _asshole_ who does not give a shit about his friends," Courfeyrac moved closer to him. Enjolras could feel the anger radiating from the usually cheerful man. He glared back at him and Courfeyrac was standing right in front of him now.

Enjolras was speechless. Courfeyrac was never the one who would say these words to him. Courfeyrac always treated him with respect and understood his opinions although there were times when they disagree with each other's views.

"In a way, I think it's good that Eponine broke up with you, man, because now, I can see who you truly are," Courfeyrac said maliciously. Enjolras' grip on the door handle tightened, the mention of Eponine's name still gave him a pang in his heart.

"Shut up, Courf. Shut. _Up_," said Enjolras through gritted teeth.

"Fuck you, man. She deserves better than you. She deserves better than this pathetic excuse of a man standing right before me," Courfeyrac hissed.

That was it. Enjolras pushed Courfeyrac away and punched him hard on his face. The other man fell back on the couch. He managed to get up but Enjolras grabbed him and pushed him against the wall, hitting him again and again and again with everything he can. Courfeyrac somehow managed to scratch Enjolras' face, making the marble man scream and Courfeyrac used his moment of vulnerability to kick him in his stomach. The noise they both made attracted Combeferre who was working in his office which was next to Enjolras'.

Combeferre came just in time before Courfeyrac and Enjolras murdered each other.

"Stop it! STOP!" he shouted as he stood in between the feuding men. Both men were breathing harshly, looking at each other with so much hatred and loathing.

"What the fuck happened here?" Combeferre frowned. He turned to look at Enjolras who was seething with anger. Combeferre had never seen Courfeyrac and Enjolras fighting. He also had never seen both of them looking at each other as if they were sworn enemies, as if they had never been friends. It bothered him.

"Why don't you ask him?" Courfeyrac said as he rubbed his jaw. He was lucky that it didn't break but he knew that there are going to be bruises on his face later. He wiped his bleeding nose, looking angrily at Enjolras. Combeferre sighed, starting to understand what it was all about and he realized that he needed to put a stop on all this. So, he grabbed Courfeyrac's and Enjolras' sleeve and led them to the couch. He pushed them both and they took a seat next to each other.

He was about to open his mouth to say something when…

"I am sorry," Enjolras spoke softly, surprising Combeferre and Courfeyrac. He then buried his face in his hands and sobbed uncontrollably. "I'm sorry, I am so, so _sorry_," he kept repeating. Combeferre and Courfeyrac exchanged looks, feeling sympathetic towards their best friend. Suddenly, all the anger and disappointment that they felt for the past week dissipated and in that room were nothing but two friends trying to console their best friend who finally broke down after keeping everything to himself for so long.

"I'm sorry, Enjolras. We're sorry. We're going to do everything we can to help you get through this." Courfeyrac placed a hand on Enjolras' shoulder. Combeferre smiled.

"You're not alone, Enjolras. You're never alone. We're here. And that's all you need to know for now," he said quietly.

…

Another two weeks without Eponine was still tough but it was much better when he had his two best friends by his side. He was starting to get better as he sometimes laughed at Combeferre's bad jokes and Courfeyrac's endless stories about his quests in picking up chicks. Yes, Enjolras was finally quite happy but there's still an Eponine-shaped hole in his life that he needed to cover, that he needed to get rid of. She obviously didn't want anything to do with him anymore, so he needed to get over her. Perhaps not seeing her was a good thing, perhaps they needed the distance.

One day, Enjolras was reading in his living room on his day off when he got a call from Marius.

"Enjolras, come to my house for dinner. I have something very important to tell you," Marius said. His voice was raspy and he sounded sad. Enjolras wondered whether this had something to do with Cosette because if it was, he wasn't sure whether he was up for it.

"I am not sure. Can't you just tell me now?"

"We're all going to be here tonight. You have to come. No exceptions. 8 o'clock, sharp," Marius said sternly and hung up the line. Enjolras shrugged. What was it that was so important?

…

Enjolras took a deep breath as he knocked the door of Marius and Cosette's apartment. He heard voices inside, indicating that his friends were already there and he's the last one to arrive. The door opened and standing in front of him was Cosette.

Cosette's eyes widened when she saw Enjolras. Her mouth was opened in shock. Then, she scowled at Marius who was suddenly interested in his bottle of beer. Other Amis were silent and some looked worried because of the increasing tension between Enjolras and Cosette. The two blondes didn't like each other at all and after Enjolras and Eponine's break up, Cosette made it clear to everyone that Enjolras was dead to her, which was why Enjolras did not want to come here at the first place.

Cosette hesitated for a while but then moved aside to let Enjolras in. She did not even look at him and Enjolras could not be bothered. It's better if they didn't talk. It would make things much easier.

Cosette walked towards Marius and pinched his arm, clearly pissed off that he invited Enjolras. Marius winced because of the pain.

"Marius, follow me into the kitchen, now," Cosette said through gritted teeth.

Enjolras walked into the living room and found the Les Amis looking gloomy and down. He wondered what had happened. He took a seat next to Grantaire. They all sat in awkward silence because no one bothered to tell him what's going on. He turned to Combeferre and Courfeyrac, wondering whether they could fill him in about what happened but they too, looked just as confused as he was. Suddenly, he heard screaming in the kitchen. The others didn't seem to bother checking, as if they already knew what it was all about so Enjolras signalled Combeferre and Courfeyrac to follow him.

"What is going on here?" Enjolras asked and Marius and Cosette froze.

"You have to tell them," Marius said to Cosette, "They are my friends and this is a secret that you are not allowed to keep. Tell them. If you won't, I will,"

Enjolras turned his gaze to Cosette and found that the petite woman was crying. She looked both miserable and scared. She kept shaking her head, refusing to tell them.

"No, he does not have any right to know!"

"What about Combeferre and Courfeyrac, Cosette? They're her friends too! They have every right to know where she's going!"

"Can you guys stop fighting and fucking tell us what happened?" Combeferre asked as he began to get really annoyed.

Marius glared at Cosette. He had always looked at her with so much love and compassion, and Enjolras was surprised to see the cold look that he's giving her now.

"Well, then I'll tell them," Marius whispered. "Guys, why don't you take a seat?"

They all did and Marius took a deep breath.

"Eponine… she's… she got promoted," Marius started.

"Well, that's great for her. So, are we here to celebrate her promotion? Where is she? I haven't seen her in like ages!" Courfeyrac asked, oblivious of Marius' tone and looked left and right, as if Eponine was going to jump out any second now and yelled "Surprise!"

"Courf, she's not here. She's not in the country actually. Her job required her to move to another country. She left," Marius said gloomily, dropping the bomb on the trio.

Enjolras felt like his world had gone black. He knew that Eponine and him both needed the distance but to move to another country was out of the question. Why would Eponine move and leave all her friends here? How could she? How could she not tell him? After all that they've been through, this was how she wanted it to end?

Combeferre and Courfeyrac looked stunned by the new information and suddenly, Combeferre said, "You're joking, right? Please tell me that you're joking!"

"No, he is not joking," Cosette murmured. All eyes turned to her. Combeferre and Courfeyrac looked completely devastated.

All of the sudden, Enjolras asked, "How long have you known?"

"What?" Cosette turned her gaze from Marius to Enjolras.

"How long have you known that she's moving to another country? How long have you been keeping this secret from us? No, how long have you all been keeping this secret from the _three of us_?" Enjolras asked. His tone was dangerously calm as he finally understood why he hardly saw Marius and Cosette these days, why he hardly saw the Amis. They were helping Eponine to move. He felt betrayed.

"She wanted to move to Malaysia peacefully," Cosette said calmly and Enjolras' heart sank. Malaysia? That's like worlds away. "… and she did not want anyone to stop her, especially you," Cosette said to Enjolras. Her tone was also calm but he could sense that she's blaming everything on him.

"How could you, Marius? You knew and you didn't tell us? We thought you're our friend!" Courfeyrac said heatedly.

"Do not blame Marius. It was my idea. Eponine wanted to tell you guys but I told her no. She was having a hard time getting over Enjolras and this is a golden opportunity for her to move on. If she told you and Combeferre, you would tell Enjolras and everything would be so messed up again" Cosette said calmly without any remorse, without thinking about how her decision was the one which messed everything up.

Enjolras scoffed. Cosette turned to Enjolras.

"What the fuck is the matter with you?" she said crossly.

"You know Cosette? I have always known that you are quite a bitch but I didn't know that you could be this despicable," Enjolras was furious and Marius moved to stand between him and Cosette to protect her, "A hypocrite, that's what you are. You're so sweet and innocent on the outside but inside, you're the ugliest and the vilest human being I had ever the misfortune to meet. You had no right to tell Eponine what she should do. You had no right to keep us apart. You had no right keep this thing a secret from us!" he said accusingly and his tone was full of hate.

"Don't say those things to my girlfriend, Enjolras," Marius hissed, defending Cosette.

Cosette however, was unafraid of Enjolras. She softly pushed Marius away and strode towards Enjolras. Enjolras barely had a moment to register what happened when she suddenly slapped him on his cheek. Her slap left a mark on Enjolras' face due to its force.

Cosette now was shaking with fury. "You are the vile man here, Enjolras. You cheated on her, you hurt her. You promised her, promised _me_, that you would never _ever_ let anyone treat her badly her but now, you're the one who betrayed her trust in the worst possible way. Do you know how long it took me to convince her that you're not worth her tears? Do you know how long did it take her to stop calling me every single night in tears because she missed you? Do you know how many times we fought for this month only because I had to use every ounce of energy I have to stop her from going back to you? Well, I do! She was miserable and I had never seen her so depressed!"

"I had to have her move to our new place a few blocks from my office, where none of you knew where she was, okay? Not even the Amis. She needed her space and I provided that for her,"

"Why," Enjolras said through gritted teeth, "did you not let her come back to me?! You had no right to interfere in our business like that, Cosette! I still love her and I have been nothing but a miserable mess without her. Do you have any idea what you have done to me? To us?!"

"Eponine is like a sister to me, Enjolras," Cosette said and she could barely control her rage. Marius had to hold to her tightly to keep her from attacking Enjolras, "I have every right to protect her from a _monster_ like you,"

"If you truly love her like you claim you do, you would let her go. You would accept that you had your chance and you blew it!" Cosette spat.

She took a moment before saying the next sentence. This time, her tone was maliciously calm, "If you don't, you would be nothing but a possessive, idiotic, awful parasite who had to have everything in his own way without caring about other people's feelings."

The room was silent.

"Let her go, Enjolras. She's moving on and she does not need you in her life anymore. Let go," a voice said behind Enjolras. He turned around and saw Grantaire standing by the kitchen door, emptying his glass of wine.

"No, you are wrong. I am going to the airport. She can't leave, not like this," Enjolras said, moving to the door, pushing Grantaire aside. His world was spinning. He did not want to believe that Eponine was in another country. He refused to accept that she had moved without telling him, without saying goodbye.

Grantaire however, grabbed his arm. Enjolras turned to yell at him but he stopped when he saw that Grantaire's blue eyes were looking at him with sympathy and understanding instead of anger and loathing.

"Please, don't do this to her. I am begging you. Please, stop," he pleaded.

With that, Enjolras stilled. He slumped to the floor, hating himself for realizing that Cosette and Grantaire were right, hating Eponine for leaving, hating his life for turning upside down, leaving him to be nothing but a mess.

The worst of all, deep inside, he knew that he had no one else to blame but himself.

**A/N** : So, I decided to make this story a multi-chapter fic and I am terribly sorry if there's too much angst in this chapter. I will try to make the next chapter happier. I will try. I also should stop being so mean towards Enjolras.

Anyway, what do you guys think?


	3. The One When Eponine was Back

**Chapter 3**

Cosette and Marius were relaxing at Café Musain during their lunch time. Marius had his arm around his girlfriend's shoulder, while she was rubbing her swollen belly affectionately. Cosette was three months pregnant now and both of them could not be happier. The couple looked calm, as if there's no one else in this world but them. Cosette looked at Marius and beamed. She reached the back of his neck and pulled him in for a loving kiss. Cosette had never felt happier because she knew that ever since she met Marius, that man had claimed a very special place in her heart in which there's only him and absolutely no one could ever replace him. Now, they're expecting their first child together and Cosette thanked God every day for she had met her true soul mate. Marius kissed her back, feeling warm and safe in her embrace. The couple were so in love and nothing really mattered in this world for them but each other.

"Gosh, you guys are sickening. Get a room," said Grantaire as he joined them at their booth, interrupting their moment.

Marius and Cosette pulled back from their kiss and glared at Grantaire.

"Okay, it's official. We literally cannot have a minute alone without our friends butting in," Cosette whispered at Marius, causing the man to chuckle. He let go of Cosette and turned to Grantaire who had his face buried in his hands, groaning and complaining about his headache.

"How is your day, Grantaire?" Marius asked politely although he was still quite annoyed at him for interrupting his time with Cosette. Grantaire scowled at Marius for asking a question in which the answer was obvious. Marius smiled looking at him. Grantaire looked absolutely terrible. He had eye bags under his eyes, his hair was messy and his skin was dry. He kept rubbing his temple, hoping that it would reduce some of his pain. Cosette looked sympathetic and worried of him but Marius looked amused.

"Terrible. I have headache all morning. I cannot concentrate on my work and I literally cannot do anything because of it," Grantaire answered miserably and shot an angry look at Marius who chortled, clearly was too used to seeing him dealing with bad hangovers that he didn't take it seriously anymore. Cosette however, still managed to feel bad for him.

"Well, maybe you should cut down on the booze. Seriously R, we have been through this for like a million times already. I am worried about you," Cosette said.

"Cosette, spare your lectures. I am not here to listen to them," Grantaire snapped, sounding irritated. Cosette was about to open her mouth to argue but Marius took her hand in his, shaking his head, asking Cosette to drop it. He understood that there's no use trying to talk to Grantaire about ending his drinking habit and although he knew that his girlfriend had good intentions, sometimes he thought that she should leave some people alone. He used to let Cosette do whatever she wanted but after she meddled with Eponine and Enjolras' relationship, he knew that he needed to keep close eyes on her before she started another fight with his friends again. Cosette in turn looked at him in disbelief but in the end decided to not get into it. She simple shook her head and took a sip of her apple juice, frowning at Grantaire.

"Sometimes I wish Eponine is still here so that I won't always be stuck with you, R." Cosette murmured bitterly.

Grantaire nodded sadly and answered, "Me too, Cosette, me too,"

Eponine, Cosette and Grantaire were the best of friends. Sometimes they wondered how they managed to get along so well because the only thing that they had in common was that they could effortlessly annoy Enjolras to hell and beyond. Perhaps their differences were the ones that brought them closer together. Cosette was always the rational one in the trio. Grantaire was the most spontaneous in making life decisions while Eponine was the most adventurous but still quite careful. They complimented each other perfectly and after some time, all of them grew close enough to be extremely protective of each other. Therefore, when Eponine fell in love with Enjolras who according to the other two, was a pretentious jerk, they could not help but to protest. It was until after the fifth month of Eponine and Enjolras' relationship that they finally opened their eyes and saw how happy Enjolras made her so they finally stopped trying to give Enjolras a hard time and gave the couple their blessing.

However, when Enjolras screwed things up and the couple broke up, it was Grantaire's turn to be the rational one in the trio. When Eponine showed up at Grantaire's apartment, crying her eyes out, Grantaire instantly called Cosette and the two spent the whole night trying to calm Eponine down and got her to tell them what happened. When she finally told them that Enjolras cheated on her and slept with someone else, Cosette was the one who wanted to go after that man and Grantaire was pretty sure that Cosette was going to murder Enjolras if he hadn't stopped her. The month when Enjolras and Eponine broke up was the hardest month Grantaire had to endure because he suddenly was stuck between the emotionally vulnerable Eponine and the angry and irrational Cosette. Therefore, when Eponine and Cosette fought every day because the latter refused to let her go back to Enjolras, Grantaire was the one who had to break the fight and reminded Eponine of why she left Enjolras at the first place, taking her into his arms when she cried afterwards. When Cosette meddled in their business by having Eponine move to her new place without telling anyone, Grantaire was the one who argued with her because of her ridiculousness. He managed to get Cosette to tell the other Amis about Eponine's new place but no matter how hard he tried, he could not convince the two women to tell Enjolras, Combeferre and Courfeyrac about Eponine's whereabouts. In the end, his loyalty to Eponine and Cosette beat everything but it didn't mean that he wasn't hurt having to pick sides.

Nevertheless, when Eponine told him that she's going to move to Malaysia and tried to give some dumbass excuse about it being a great opportunity for her, he was the one who read her and knew right away that it was one of her ways to get away from facing Enjolras. Cosette was happy for her because she was completely clueless about Eponine's tactic of running away from Enjolras. The woman truly thought that Eponine managed to get over her ex-boyfriend. Grantaire however, was not fooled and asked Eponine to look him in the eye and told him that this move to Malaysia had nothing to do with Enjolras. Eponine could not lie to him so she finally said that she knew that she would never get over Enjolras if she's in the same city as him so when her boss offered her the promotion, she took it without thinking twice. Grantaire was about to protest her decision but Cosette put her hand on his shoulder, asking him to let Eponine be. Again, Grantaire could not do anything but to support his friend's decision.

However, when Eponine and Cosette decided that she was moving to Malaysia without telling Enjolras, he knew that it was the last call and decided those two were letting their emotions blurring their ability to think straight so he must step up and take actions. Thus, he confided Marius who then managed to get Cosette to tell him her plans. Marius who was then so angry at Cosette, told Enjolras, Combeferre and Courfeyrac, and they reacted just like he predicted. They were extremely pissed off and disappointed. Nevertheless, Grantaire could not let Enjolras stop Eponine from moving. Although it was with a heavy heart, he understood that Eponine needed to move so he stopped Enjolras from going after her. He cursed himself for breaking his friend's heart but this was a situation in which both sides would get hurt and there was absolutely nothing he could do to make things better.

Eponine leaving New York for Malaysia was a dark time for both him and Cosette. Although he thought that Cosette was an incredible friend, he still missed Eponine's sass and witty remarks whenever Cosette lectured him about his drinking habit. He appreciated Cosette's concern and if he's being honest, he was touched that she cared so much about him but it didn't mean that sometimes she didn't annoy him. If Eponine was here with him, she would tell her to drop it and leave him alone because her nagging would not make anything better for Grantaire. Eponine going to Malaysia made him realize that she was the glue to their relationship and without her; everything just did not feel the same.

"I wish that she's here, Cosette. It's been three years. I miss her so much." Grantaire said sadly.

"I miss her too," Cosette said. She moved to sit next to Grantaire and hugged him tightly. She too missed Eponine so much that she could not stop her tears from flowing down her pale cheeks. Three years without Eponine was the loneliest three years on her life and she needed her best friend to be back in New York soon.

"Cosette, please don't cry," Grantaire said, pulling away from Cosette's hug. He wiped Cosette's tears lovingly and pulled her into another hug, "Hush, hush, she'll come back soon. She belongs in New York, with us. This is not forever," he whispered, trying to calm Cosette who was sobbing in his embrace.

Marius who was sitting across those two was smiling widely. Grantaire frowned. How could Marius still managed to smile when they were obviously feeling down?

"I don't think you guys should be so sad," Marius said cheekily and his grin grew wider, which Grantaire thought wasn't possible.

"… and why is that?" Grantaire questioned sceptically, wondering why the man sounded too chirpy. Cosette apparently was thinking of the same thing so she pulled away from Grantaire to glare at her boyfriend.

"Because our dear 'Ponine is back," Marius said as he waved enthusiastically at someone at the café's door. Both Cosette and Grantaire turned their heads to the café's door and their face lighted up. Standing by it was a gorgeous brunette wearing her signature dimpled smile. She had tears of happiness in her eyes, clearly too happy to see them again and she opened her arms for Cosette and Grantaire to come hug her. Cosette and Grantaire cheered joyfully and hurried to welcome their best friend whom they had not seen in three years, whom they missed dearly.

Yes, their best friend Eponine was back and she had no intention of leaving again. She's here to stay.

**A/N:** Hi! So, a happier chapter! What do you guys think?


	4. The One with Them Meeting Again

**Chapter 4**

"I cannot believe that you're back!" Cosette squealed, hugging Eponine tightly. "Why didn't you tell me? I could have gotten you at the airport!" she exclaimed, releasing Eponine from her embrace and dragged the brunette to her booth. Grantaire and Marius followed them from behind, amused seeing Cosette's excitement.

"I wanted to surprise you guys," Eponine smiled as she took a seat between Cosette and Grantaire. She looked around the café and found it funny that although it had been three years, the café still looked the same and her friends still sit in their usual booth. _As if nothing had changed_, she said to herself. She signalled the waitress to come to them, and ordered a cup of coffee and a croissant for herself. She just got back from a very, very long journey and she was starving.

She turned her head to her friends and saw Cosette eyeing her, observing her curiously.

"What is it? Is there something in my teeth?" Eponine asked, reaching her handbag to find a mirror.

"No honey, it's nothing. It's just… you look beautiful," she answered, "Not that you're not beautiful before but you look different. Good different though, you look absolutely gorgeous." she said admiringly, her eyes were still on Eponine. Grantaire cleared his throat.

"You have a boyfriend, Cosette, and do I need to remind you that you're pregnant with his baby?" Grantaire interrupted, earning a glare from Cosette. Eponine blushed while Marius put his arm around his girlfriend's shoulder protectively. Cosette giggled and kissed her boyfriend's cheek, making him smile.

"You're beautiful too, baby. Don't be jealous" she said softly as she moved closer into Marius' embrace. Grantaire made a gagging sound, clearly sick of the lovebirds. Eponine laughed. It had been three years but Marius and Cosette still acted like two teenagers in love, as if they fell in love with each other deeper every single day. It was sickening and sweet at the same time.

"Malaysia was good but I am glad I am home," Eponine said. She sipped her coffee and reminisced her time in Malaysia.

Being in Malaysia was indeed good for her. The sunny weather in Malaysia made her smooth skin more tanned. The scrumptious local cuisine caused her to gain healthy weight so her face was fuller and since she had a haircut a few months back, her hair was now at shoulders length, showing her beautiful face perfectly. Her new friends and co-workers in Malaysia were outgoing and kind and they made her first experience in a foreign country fun and exciting instead of sad and unbearable. She was hardly homesick and she considered that an achievement as she really loved New York. Since she was happy in Malaysia, everything turned out well for her. Everyone in Malaysia adored her so she was promoted again. She was needed by her company's office in New York, so she's back. To top it all, she even had a new apartment now. Life was good for Eponine Thenardier. She missed Malaysia but she knew that her heart always belonged in New York, so she felt like she's finally home.

"I am just glad that I am here. I have missed you guys so much," she said, squeezing Grantaire and Cosette's hands.

They grinned and Grantaire said, "We're glad you're back, Ep. Welcome home,"

…

Combeferre and Courfeyrac were walking to the Musain to get some lunch before going back to their office. They just got back from the court after winning the case that they worked for months to solve. Both of them were really satisfied that their hard work managed to put another bastard behind bars and justice was served to the innocent. They wanted to celebrate tonight but everyone was busy so they decided to treat themselves for a big lunch at Musain. Both Courfeyrac and Combeferre were in a really a good mood and they thought that there was absolutely nothing could ruin their day today.

"What are you going to have?" Courfeyrac asked as he opened the door to Musain, letting Combeferre enter first. His question however, remained unanswered. He was about to ask again but he saw that his friend froze. He followed Combeferre's gaze. Then Courfeyrac too was so shocked that he felt his jaw drop. In their usual booth was Eponine, who was giggling after listening to Grantaire's joke. Marius and Cosette were also laughing, clearly having such a good time catching up with the woman who three years ago, broke Enjolras' heart, broke both Combeferre and Courfeyrac's hearts by leaving without saying goodbye. Courfeyrac decided that he did not feel like saying hi to Eponine, so he tugged Combeferre's arm, trying to get them out of the café before they were noticed by the group.

Courfeyrac knew that it was childish of him to still hold grudges against Eponine for leaving without telling them three years ago. However, he had never felt so betrayed and for him, betrayal is betrayal, and it sucked that it came from his own friend. No matter how much he tried, he still could not get over it. Heck, it took him a long time before forgiving Marius and Cosette. It was until they found out that she was pregnant that he could truly forgive her and after years, the group finally reconciled. Enjolras and Eponine's break up caused them to take separate ways and Eponine moving to Malaysia made matters worse. He wondered whether those two realized what they did to all of them.

"Combeferre, come on," he pulled his best friend's arm but Combeferre remained frozen on his spot. He was about to scold him when Marius saw them and called out their name. _Shit._

"Hey you guys! Come join us!" he exclaimed and Eponine turned her head to see her two friends staring at her. One was glaring at her while the other one looked beyond shocked. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and Grantaire took her hand in his to calm her down. She looked at him, asking him what to do because she was afraid to meet Combeferre and Courfeyrac but Grantaire assured her that they were no longer mad at her, just like they're no longer mad at Marius and Cosette.

Eponine loved Grantaire but she knew that what he said to her just now was nothing but utter bullshit. She knew that they were furious at her and she better brace herself to face their wrath.

"How is it going?" Courfeyrac asked as they reached their table. Marius beamed, simply oblivious of the icy silence that fell as Combeferre and Courfeyrac joined them at their booth. Combeferre seemed to have recovered from his shock of seeing Eponine and now was back to himself.

"How are you, Eponine?" Combeferre asked politely. Almost too politely that Eponine cringed. It was as if they were never friends before, as if they were two strangers who had just met. Her eyes met Combeferre's cold stare and she felt suffocated.

"I am doing well. Thanks for asking," she answered, her voice was thick as she refused to break under his icy stare. Combeferre nodded. He then turned to the waitress to order his food and Eponine glanced at Grantaire, who squeezed her hand, indicating that she was doing well and had nothing to be afraid of.

Cosette tried to diffuse the tension by telling them about Eponine's experience in Malaysia but Eponine thought that she made things worse. Cosette telling them all about Malaysia probably fuelled the anger as it reminded them of why they were furious at her at the first place. However, she could not do anything so she simply faked a smile and let Cosette tell the story.

"Malaysia sounds like a nice place, Eponine. Clearly you had a good time. You must have made a lot of new friends there," Combeferre said courteously, turning his gaze from Cosette to Eponine. His tone was calm but incredibly hostile. Eponine gulped and nodded. God, she would prefer Combeferre yelling at her. She did not like this Combeferre. He was always so kind to her and to receive this kind of treatment from him, it hurt.

"Did you say goodbye to them before coming back to New York though? Or did you leave without saying a word like you did to us?" Courfeyrac blurted. He had no idea how Combeferre managed to be polite. Courfeyrac was seething with anger so he did not bother to be nice and kind. It took everything he had to not shout his dissatisfactions at Eponine and create a scene right now.

"Courfeyrac, please, don't do this," Marius pleaded, finally realizing the tension in the group.

"Courf, don't. Be cool," Combeferre hissed under his breath. He did not want to get into a fight right now, not after he was so happy a few moments earlier. However, as he looked at his friend, he knew that he could not do anything to calm him down. After Eponine left, Enjolras was dejected but Courfeyrac was furious. He had never felt so betrayed because Eponine not only hurt his friend, but also hurt him and Courfeyrac just could not handle anger and disappointment as well as Combeferre did.

"Why are you here?" Courfeyrac asked coldly. Eponine looked up and met his eyes and saw that they were filled with loathing. It killed her to see him looking at her like that so she turned away, refusing to meet his eyes.

"No, look at me, Eponine!" Courfeyrac raised his voice and Eponine could not help but to feel a little scared, "Why are you back in New York? Why come back to us while three years ago, you left us, didn't give a shit about our feelings?" Courfeyrac asked heatedly and Eponine felt tears misting in her eyes.

"I… I…" Eponine started, she did not know what to say.

"You do realize that now that you're back, you're going to see Enjolras again, right? You do know that he tried his best to get over you, right? And now that you're back, you're going to hurt him again. He did a shitty thing by cheating on you but you coming back after years not contacting him, that's just fucked up. You're going to open old wounds and I cannot let you do that," Courfeyrac spat.

Eponine felt tears streaming down her face. She did not expect this on her first day back in New York. Courfeyrac's words stung and it was made worse when she could not think of anything to defend herself. She could not say anything because she knew that she deserved everything he threw at her. However, she knew that she could not sit there with them anymore so she got up, grabbed her handbag and went to the door, ignoring Grantaire and Cosette's protests.

"Good, leave. That's how you deal with everything. When things get tough, you leave. I expect nothing less from you," Courfeyrac said coldly and Eponine had enough, so she walked out of the door.

…

Eponine just got back from her office after settling some work in her office and she was tired. It had been a long day for Eponine and she wanted nothing but to get settled in her new apartment and got some well-deserved rest. She sighed as she looked at all the boxes, wondering how long it would take to unpack all of them. She could not do this alone, she needed help, so she planned to take some time off this weekend and ask Grantaire and Cosette to come over to help her.

She made a note on her phone and sighed as she lay on her bed, looking at the ceiling. Courfeyrac's words were still ringing in her ears. She could not get them out. Although it killed her to admit it, he was right. It was very irresponsible for her to go without telling them. It was childish and spineless of her to just take off. She did feel guilty when she first got to Malaysia but what was done, was done and she could not look back. Coming back to New York surely would open old wounds but what was she supposed to do? Go back to Malaysia?

It hurt that she lost her friendship to Combeferre and Courfeyrac because of one stupid, thoughtless action. She wondered whether she could do anything to get them to forgive her. Could they ever forgive her?

Then she thought about Enjolras. God, it still hurt thinking about him. She cursed herself for missing him. She cursed herself for wondering whether he still thought about her. She cursed herself for still loving him.

She knew that she was in deep trouble when it came to Enjolras. She knew that she could never stop loving him. It's not that she did not try but something just did not feel right when she tried to date someone else. She was with Enjolras for five years and during that time, she knew that she wanted to spend her life with no one but him. Although she wanted to take the relationship slow, she knew that in the end, she would settle down with no one but him. But that was then.

It still hurt thinking about him. He used to occupy her heart and her mind. Now, there was nothing but a hollow place in her heart where her faith in him used to be. Without it, she felt nothing but emptiness. She wondered whether that's the reason why it's hard for her to start dating again. She cursed Enjolras. He gave her the greatest pain but she kept holding to him because he was her greatest joy, the one who shook her world and made everything better. Damn it all. She hated herself for loving this man too much.

Suddenly, she heard the doorbell. She looked at the clock, wondering why someone would come to her house late at night. To her surprise, it was only 9 o'clock. God, she must have been so tired that she lost track of the time. She groaned and got up from her bed.

She opened the door and was startled to find Combeferre and Courfeyrac standing in front of her.

"If you come simply to say yell at me, I am not in the mood," she said. Their words earlier were still fresh in her mind and she was not sure whether she was ready to hear their outburst again.

"No, we just wanted to talk… nicely," Combeferre said quietly. His tone was no longer malicious but instead, it was calm and kind. Just like the tone he always used whenever he talked to her. Eponine's heart softened. She moved to let the two men in and she heard Courfeyrac murmured "I cannot believe that Cosette made us do this," under his breath. Eponine smiled. She was impressed of the power that Cosette had on the Les Amis. How did she get them to listen to her, she would never know.

They settled in the living room. Combeferre took a seat while Courfeyrac looked out the window, admiring the view.

"I have to say, this is a nice place," Courfeyrac muttered.

"Thank you," Eponine answered shortly, taking a seat next to Combeferre. They all sat in awkward silence, until Combeferre finally spoke his mind, until he finally asked the one thing that bothered him for three years.

"Are we your friends, Eponine?" he said quietly. Eponine was taken aback by his question.

"What? Ferre, why would you ask such question?"

"Because it didn't feel like we are. You went away without even saying goodbye, as if we're nothing to you, Ep. I know that we're not as close to you as Cosette and R but we still consider you our friend. It just hurts feeling like you didn't acknowledge us as yours, that's all," Combeferre said sadly.

"What's worse is that you did not even make an effort to explain your actions to us. It was Marius who had to explain everything to us. We deserve better than this, Ep. Why didn't you tell us? Is it because we're close to Enjolras? If so, that's just childish. No matter how shitty things get between you too, all of us were in your life once, and you don't cut people out of your life without saying a word. That's just mean and fucked up and totally uncalled for," Courfeyrac continued.

Eponine kept quiet. She could not think of anything to defend herself. Partly because she's tired, partly because she knew that she's wrong and she thought that there's no way that she's ever going to make up for what she did.

"I don't know what to say. I am sorry. I am really, _really_ sorry," her voice broke. Courfeyrac turned his head to Eponine and saw her wiping away her tears. Both of them did not see that coming so they stilled, not knowing what to do. They were never good at consoling distressed women. Combeferre awkwardly patted Eponine's back.

"I am a shitty friend," Eponine continued, "I do not know what to say to justify my actions. I think it is probably because there's nothing to say. I am a coward for running away just like that. I am a selfish, inconsiderate bitch and both of you deserve better. Enjolras deserves better. All of you deserve better. I am sorry. I am so, _so_, sorry," she sobbed. She did not like crying. It was tiring and she always thought that it would never make anything better. But she cried a lot these past years. She must have gotten soft.

Courfeyrac took a seat next to Eponine.

"I have fucked everything up, haven't I?" Eponine whispered.

"Both you and Enjolras fucked everything up. We just happen to be sucked into this whole mess," Courfeyrac sighed, cracking a little smile. She turned to look at Combeferre and saw his expression had softened.

"You guys mean a lot to me, you know? You're my friends. I am sorry that I hardly contact you guys while I was in Malaysia. I am sorry for leaving. I am sorry for everything. I don't expect you guys to forgive me but… I hope you do," she finished lamely.

"Is it worth it though?" Combeferre asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Moving to Malaysia. I mean, you moved to get away from Enjolras, to get over him. Did you get over him?"

Eponine sighed. She really did not want to answer that question right now. She really did not want to even think about her feelings for Enjolras anymore but well, she could not always get what she want so she had to face this, sooner or later.

"I don't know. I will always love him, he will always have a special place in my heart but we're not getting back together for sure. I am no longer mad at him though. Right now I just hope that he's not mad at me,"

"He could never be mad at you, Ep," Courfeyrac said quietly.

"Well, we'll just see about that," Eponine shrugged.

"Wait, are you going to see him?" Combeferre questioned and Courfeyrac turned to look at Eponine.

"I am going to. I cannot avoid him, can I? We're all friends and because of me, the group separated. I need to make things right,"

Courfeyrac smiled.

"Good," he said.

"I miss you guys," Eponine said quietly, starting to sob again. Shit, she hated how touchy she got today. She's usually so tough. Well, she's tired and she missed her friends almost too much, so everything got overwhelming. Both Combeferre and Courfeyrac chuckled seeing the usually cool Eponine got extremely emotional. They put their arms around her, pulling her into a group hug. It would take time for them to fully forgive her but right now, they did not want to be angry at her anymore. There's no use anyway. Right now, the problem was for Eponine and Enjolras to solve. They no longer want to be a part of it.

"We miss you too, Ep. Just… the next time you move to another country, tell us, okay? No excuses," Courfeyrac whispered in her ear, earning a chuckle from Eponine. They hugged for God knows how long until they realized that it started to get awkward, so they let go, clearing their throats.

"So, are you going to need help unpacking?" Combeferre asked, looking at the piles of boxes. Eponine sighed as she wiped her tears.

"Maybe this weekend. I am too tired to do anything right now," Eponine said, yawning and leaned her head on Combeferre's shoulder, closing her eyes. The flight to New York, her work and all that crying really wore Eponine out so she fell asleep as soon as she closed her eyes. Combeferre laughed seeing Eponine fell asleep so fast but then his laughter gradually stopped when he saw how serene and beautiful Eponine looked when she's asleep. He suddenly felt like he could not move a muscle because he feared that he might wake her up.

"Well, I need to get going," Courfeyrac said as he checked his phone, "Are you coming with me?" he said and saw Combeferre watching Eponine, who was already asleep, her head on his shoulder. He saw his friend reached out and tugged Eponine's hair behind her ears, still not breaking his gaze on her. Courfeyrac found his friend's action weird so he cleared his throat to get his attention.

"Ferre,"

"What?"

"I said, are you coming with me?" Courfeyrac asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Yes, of course. Wait… should I wake her up?" Combeferre asked.

"I don't know. It's your shoulder she's leaning on" Courfeyrac answered absent-mindedly.

Combeferre wondered for a while. Then, he decided that he did not have the heart to wake her up but he could not stay either. Therefore, he carefully moved her head from his shoulder and laid her on the couch. Eponine moved but she did not wake up.

"I'll get her blanket," Courfeyrac said, getting up to get her blanket but Combeferre stopped him.

"We can't leave her on the couch" he said seriously as he slowly picked Eponine up and carried her to her bedroom. He gently put Eponine on her bed and covered her with her blanket. He turned around and found Courfeyrac staring at him incredulously, crossing his arms.

"What?" Combeferre asked. Courfeyrac looked as if he wanted to say something but then decided that it was not a big deal so he shrugged it off, handing Combeferre's coat to him.

"Never mind. Let's go," he said, walking out of the bedroom. Combeferre followed him. As he was closing the bedroom door, he took one last glance at Eponine. He smiled.

"Welcome home, Ep. It's nice to have you back," Combeferre whispered and he strolled out of her apartment.

**A/N :** I am so, so sorry for the delay but somehow it was hard for me to get this chapter right. I am not entirely happy with this chapter though but I could not make it better so, this is chapter 4.

Eponine and Enjolras are going to meet soon and I am going to introduce to you guys Eponine's and Courfeyrac's new love interest in and they're both OC. They're going to play a big role in this story so I hope you'll like them. And no, I don't think I am going to write Eponine with Combeferre despite the last scene. I did not plan to write it that way but I got carried away while writing it and thought that it was too cute to delete so I decided to keep it…. But I don't know, do you want more Eppieferre?

Anyway, tell me what you think! I appreciate every review I've got and I read them every day to give me the motivation to continue writing this story. Thanks for reading guys, you're the best!


	5. The One with the Spilt Coffee

_Special shout-outs to my best friends, Fatin Kamilia and Azmira Eriza who are so supportive and sweet in encouraging me to keep writing. I love both of you so much!_

**Chapter 5**

It was a fine morning in New York. The weather was not too cold and it was not too hot either so Enjolras was in a particularly good mood. He got out of his apartment, inhaled the fresh morning air and beamed. So far, so good. He was positive that today was going to be a good day.

He stopped by at Starbucks near his apartment to get his daily caffeine which he needed badly because he could not function well for the rest of the day without one. He was a coffee addict for sure, and this addiction of his used to annoy Eponine to hell and beyond although she too, enjoyed a cup of it every once in a while. Enjolras would drink a cup of coffee during breakfast, lunch and dinner, causing him to not be able to go to bed early during the night although he had an early morning the next day. He used his nights completing his works and studying his cases but sometimes when Eponine's in the mood, she would accompany him while he's doing his work and even managed to coax him into doing more… _enjoyable_ activities.

The barista knew Enjolras well because he went to the coffee shop every morning so he did not even bother to tell her his order. He paid for his coffee and waited for her to make it. Suddenly, his phone rang. Enjolras frowned. Who in the right mind would call him early in the morning? It better not be from work. He still had an hour to spare before going to office so whatever they needed to tell him, they could tell him then. He looked at his phone and was surprised to see Combeferre's ID.

"Hello?"

"Good morning, Enjolras. Am I bothering you? Is it too early?" Combeferre asked.

"It is too early to be calling anybody but no, you're not bothering me. What's up?" Enjolras answered. The barista handed him his coffee and he took it from her gladly. He raised his cup to the barista as a sign of thank you and went to take a seat by the window. It was his favourite spot.

"I need to tell you something. Please promise me that you won't freak out," Combeferre said, sounding anxious.

"What did Grantaire do now?" Enjolras said exasperatedly. He loved all of his friends but Grantaire sometimes was almost too much to handle. Just like Eponine, his reckless behaviour drove him crazy to the point that he was sick of it. Grantaire always got into trouble and Enjolras was the one who had to help him wriggle his way out of it. Not that he minded but God, that man needed to be more cautious. He supposed he should be glad that Eponine's in another country now. With Eponine around, those two were the unstoppable duo who never failed to give him massive headache.

"What? No, R did not do anything wrong. It's about Eponine," Combeferre said softly, dropping the bomb on Enjolras.

Oh. Well, he did not expect that at all. He had not heard a lot from his ex-girlfriend for the last three years. Surely sometimes her name came up whenever he's around Marius and Cosette but they're always careful not to say a lot about her life in Malaysia because they thought that he's still sensitive over their break up, which Enjolras thought was silly of them. He's already past their break up. If Eponine did not care enough to even have the decency to tell him that she was moving to another country, then he should not give a rat's ass about her either.

Nevertheless, it did not mean that any mention of her name did not bring that sensation in the pit of his stomach. What would Jehan call it? Oh, those 'butterflies in your stomach' shit, indicating that he's still in love with her and all that bullcrap. He would be lying if he said that he did not miss her. Instead, he missed her so much that it hurt but he was also clouded by his anger towards her. But he did not love her anymore, no, he did not love her anymore, no, no, no. He's not in love with her anymore, right? Okay, to be honest, he did not know but he did not care. Feelings were confusing and often caused him to be emotionally exhausted. Sometimes he wished he did not even have one.

"Oh? What about her?" he asked, flinched when he realized how throaty his voice sounded.

"She is back in New York, Enjolras,"

Enjolras felt like he was hit by a ton of bricks. Okay, he _definitely_ did not expect _that_. Enjolras was overwhelmed by a mixture of emotions in which he did not know how to handle. He was angry but at the same time relieved knowing that now she's near him now and she's no longer far away. He missed her but at the same time he did not think that he wanted to see her. He yearned for her but at the same time he wanted to keep his distance. How could he love and hate her at the same time? Damn.

"Oh, okay," Enjolras answered shortly.

"Okay? That's it?" Combeferre sounded shocked.

"What else do you want me to say, Ferre?" Enjolras snapped.

"I don't know. I thought you'd have more to say than just 'okay'. This is Eponine we're talking about" Combeferre retorted, sounding utterly annoyed.

"Well, it's good that she's here. It's none of my business anyway," Enjolras said coldly. He realized how childish he sounded but he could not bring himself to care.

"Enjolras, it is your business! I know that you're still in love with her and…" Combeferre started but Enjolras interrupted him.

"I don't want to talk about this. I need to go now. I'm walking to the office today. I'll see you there," Enjolras said shortly and hung up the phone.

He sighed. He wondered how everything was going to be now that Eponine was back. Enjolras could not avoid her for sure. He was going to see her whenever the group got together for special occasions. How would she react when she saw him? How would he react if he saw her?

Enjolras rubbed his temple. His good mood had now dissipated and was replaced by this crushing weight in his chest. He did not know what to do and he hated it. He was always a man with a plan. Not having a clear view of a situation and a strategy to face it caused Enjolras to feel very vulnerable. He did not like to feel vulnerable. Enjolras always had Combeferre to assist him in all sorts of plans but he doubted that even his best friend could help him in this matter.

With a defeated groan, he got up of his chair and headed towards the door. He was so immersed in his thought that he did not see where he was going. Before he knew it, he ran straight into a woman, spilling hot coffee all over his shirt and her blouse.

"FUCK!" Enjolras cursed, scowling with pain as the hot coffee burned his skin. He quickly went to the counter and grabbed some tissues, trying to clean the coffee stain off his pale skin, throwing his cup of coffee which he had not even had a sip yet into the garbage can. Good, now he had to run back to his apartment to change. Why in the world did he choose to wear a white shirt today? He was so sure that today was going to be a good day but now, everything got fucked up and he did not even get to sip his morning coffee yet! Enjolras kept cursing and once he finished cleaning himself, he walked to the door, not bothering to apologize to the woman he ran into. He needed to run to his apartment now to change or he's going to be late for work.

However, as he was about to walk out, he heard the woman he ran into cursing furiously as she tried to get rid of the stain on her blouse. He had his back on her but her voice was familiar. No, he knew the voice very well. It was the voice that he had not heard for three years, the voice that used to calm him down when he was mad, the voice that was the music to his ears.

"What the fuck, you shithead! Are you fucking blind?! Holy shit, now I have your fucking coffee all over my blouse and you're just going to fucking walk away without an apology? No, you asshole! Turn around and face me! Did you shove your eyeballs down your ass when you woke up this morning? Didn't your parents ever teach you to watch where you're going? Huh? Huh?"

Enjolras froze at the door. He felt like his feet were glued to the floor and his muscles had gone numb, paralyzing him. Yes, he knew that way of cursing very, very well. Heck, he was even the cause of most of them three years ago when he was with her, when he was in the whirlwind of anger, passion and love. He turned around to see whether the woman was really the one he thought she was, silently praying that he was wrong.

He turned and was convinced that this was not his day. Standing before him was Eponine.

She was cursing loudly, still trying to clean her blouse using a tissue. She did not look up to see who she was yelling at. She did not even realize that it was Enjolras. Enjolras contemplated of running away while she was not looking but he could not bring himself to do so. Therefore, he just stared at her, trying to recover from shock, disbelief and an unbelievable urge to pull her into his embrace, to feel the warmth of her body against his, to never let her go again.

Enjolras thought today was going to be a good day but now it barely even started but he was already so exhausted that he could not wait for it to end.

**A/N:** Hi! Sorry if this chapter is a little bit short but I promise the next one is going to be longer.

Anyway, I have decided that I am going to add a little bit of Eppieferre in this Enjonine story but their scene will come much, much later. I will try to make it as beautiful as I possibly can to make it worth the wait (I think this story is going to be a long one).

Please tell me what you think! Every review is deeply appreciated. They really help me to get going. I have this story drafted until Chapter 11 and it's still not halfway done so if you have any suggestions or anything, I would love to hear them!


	6. The One With Them Becoming Friends

**Chapter 6**

Eponine woke up feeling refreshed and was in a very good mood. She did not remember when exactly did she fall asleep last night but she was thankful that Combeferre (or maybe Courfeyrac but she was sure that it's Combeferre who carried her to the bed) did not leave her to sleep on the cold couch. Eponine was excited to start working in her New York office again so she planned to stop by at the Starbucks near her new apartment to get a cup of coffee to start her day. _Today is going to be a good day,_ Eponine said to herself.

Eponine, however, did not expect to get her good mood ruined so early in the morning by a jackass who ran into her with a cup of hot coffee, ruining her new blouse and burning her skin. What's worse was he even tried to get away with it! She could not let that happen so she cursed at him, wanted him to pay for it, or at least gave her some sort of apology. She kept cursing and yelling as she tried to clean herself, wondering why that jackass did not say anything. She looked up to see his face and suddenly felt like words had left her.

"Enj… Enjol… Enjolras?" she stuttered.

Enjolras however, looked calm and composed (and also incredibly handsome although his shirt was also relatively ruined). His stern gaze sent shivers down her spine and she was rendered speechless.

"Yes, it's me," he finally uttered, his voice deep and emotionless.

Oh boy, she did not expect this at all. What's she supposed to do now?

…

Life has the nastiest sense of humour. What were the odds that Eponine got a new apartment near her ex's new apartment? What were the odds that they headed for the same coffee shop at the same time this morning? What were the odds that they ran into each other, _literally_? It's like the entire universe was trying to play some kind of sick prank on both of them just when they decided that they were not yet ready to face each other. Eponine cursed under her breath as she followed Enjolras to his place, hugged her body to keep people from staring at her dirty top. Enjolras however, walked straight ahead without bothering about other people. His expression stony, his stride was long and fast so she had to jog a little to catch up.

He had apologized to her for ruining her blouse and invited her to his apartment. He said that when they broke up, she had left some stuff, including some old dresses in their old apartment and did not return to get them so now that she's here, he could finally give them to her.

"Why do you keep them? You could have just thrown them in the dumpster, like any other exes would do," Eponine questioned as Enjolras opened the door to his apartment. A gentleman he was, he moved aside to let Eponine enter first. His apartment was big and modern, although quite cluttered with books here and there. The stuff in his apartment was pretty luxurious too, with state-of-the-art television set and a set of comfy couches, Eponine could tell that he made quite a lot himself these past three years which she thought was worth it because Enjolras was always a hardworking man who never failed to do his job perfectly. She smiled to herself, feeling a little bit proud of him, forgetting their history of a moment.

"I thought you would come back for me." Enjolras said bitterly, slamming the door behind him, making Eponine flinch as she was brought out of her reverie. He then walked past her to his bedroom. Shit, he was mad at her. This was not how she planned their first meeting would be. She thought they would meet at the Musain where Cosette or Combeferre would be there to calm both of them down in case things got fiery, which usually happened when they're both in the same room. Angry Enjolras was not the person you would want to face early in the morning, or ever, really. She used to be the one who could easily calm him down but that was then when they're dating but now, she was not sure if she's up to face his wrath.

Enjolras came back with a box of her old stuff. He handed it to her and walked back to his bedroom, taking off his shirt on the way, muttering obscenities, complaining about that shirt being new and expensive but ruined in less than an hour of him wearing it. He stripped his shirt completely and turned to close the door. Eponine inhaled, averting her gaze to somewhere else other than Enjolras' fit and gorgeous frame. _So, he's been working out,_ she thought to herself.

"Stop it, Eponine. What's wrong with you?" she whispered to herself. She could not get that picture out of her mind though so she had no idea how long she had been staring out the window blankly.

"Eponine, are you okay?" Enjolras came back to the living room already wearing a clean shirt, this time he's not wearing a tie. Eponine turned her head to meet his gaze. He was buttoning the cufflinks on his sleeve and then put on his black blazer. He ran his hand through his hair, trying to fix them as he looked at the mirror, which Eponine thought was a very sexy sight to behold.

"Yes, I'm okay," Eponine answered. Her voice was raspy. She shook her head and cleared her throat, "Err, where can I change?" she continued and was glad that her voice was back to normal.

"You can change in my bedroom. I'll be here," Enjolras answered shortly. Eponine nodded and quickly got to his bedroom, ignoring the smell of his sweet cologne which she used to really love as she walked past him.

Enjolras sighed as he sat on the couch. He pulled out his phone and texted Combeferre who was probably wondering where he was. They had a meeting to conduct today and Enjolras was so strict about everyone being on time. However, now the plan had changed and Enjolras knew he was not going to make it to the office to start the meeting on time so he needed Combeferre to do that for him.

_I am going to be a little bit late. Start the meeting without me. – Enjolras_

_No problem. Where are you? Are you okay? – Ferre_

_Yes, I'm fine. I am with Eponine. – Enjolras_

_WHAT?! – Ferre_

_I ran into her earlier and spilt coffee all over her. Now she's in my apartment to change clothes. Do not freak out, this means nothing. – Enjolras_

"Enjolras," Eponine called and Enjolras looked up from his phone. She's wearing one of her old dresses which used to be quite loose for her body but now it fit her curve perfectly. The dress showed her mile long, tanned legs and Enjolras shook his head, cursing inside as he tried to ignore how radiant she looked. She tied her hair into a bun and smiled him a smile which much to his dismay, still managed to cause his heart to thump rapidly against his chest. He did not bother to smile back so he stood up and grabbed his keys. He was ready to get out of his apartment, was ready to get her out of his sight. He was not sure whether he was ready to talk to her just yet. Eponine however, had a different idea.

"Enjolras, wait. We need to talk." Eponine said, grabbing him by the arm, causing Enjolras to squeeze his eyes shut as he felt that electricity jolting through his body. He missed that feeling and who was he kidding? He missed _her_. His breath laboured. Enjolras took his time to regain his composure before turning around to face the woman who once owned his heart.

"Oh, you want to talk. You did not bother to do that three years ago." he said cynically, turning to face her. His stare was cold and uncaring, and his tone was unkind, causing Eponine to freak out a little bit. She suddenly wished that Combeferre was here. Other than her, he was the only one who could calm Enjolras even when he's in his worst rage.

"Look, I know that you're mad at me…" Eponine started but stopped when Enjolras let out a barking laugh. She let go of his arm and stepped back.

"Mad?" he hissed, "Oh 'Ponine, mad doesn't even begin to describe what I am feeling right now."

Eponine cringed at the hostility of his tone. She supposed that she was to blame for everything that happened. It was really wrong for her to just take off to another country without even telling Enjolras about it. However, in her defence, it was a very, very dark time for her as she was feeling both stressed out and betrayed at the same time. It was made worse when it was caused by her own boyfriend. At that time, getting as far away as she possibly could from him felt like the only sensible thing to do. She knew that there was absolutely no way that she could ever get over him if he's near her. She loved him that much. Nevertheless, she understood that Enjolras had every right to be mad at her and she shouldn't make any excuses now. She had some damage control to do and although she would rather be anywhere on earth than be in the same room with Enjolras right now, she needed to find a way to make up for everything she had done to the marble man she used to love so much.

Well, she supposed she could do that if he did not look so damn terrifying when he's angry. She felt like she could never achieve any sort of understanding with him in this condition and she was just going to waste his and her time.

"You know what? Never mind. I know you're busy. We can talk later." she finally said, making her way to get out of the apartment.

"No, no, no. You are not getting away this time," Enjolras chided, grabbing her by the arm and led her to the living room. She got him curious about what she wanted to say and he knew that she would try to avoid him after this and he did not like to be left hanging, not knowing. Once they got there, he stared at her with those striking ocean blue eyes as she opened and closed her mouth like a fish, not knowing where to start.

"I just… I just want to say that I am sorry," Eponine began lamely.

Enjolras crossed his arms, still staring at her and she wished that he would start saying something because she had never felt like this much of an idiot. What was she thinking? She should've talk to him in the presence of other people. She doubted that she's going to ever get him to understand her position. Enjolras was a reasonable man but he's also a normal human being, he could be clouded by emotions too, especially anger. Grantaire used to tell her that Enjolras was charming but he was also capable of being terrible. At that time, she thought he was kidding. Well, now she knew that he wasn't. His silence was terrible and he could not look more intimidating.

"Go on," he said, his tone emotionless.

"Enjolras, I know that you're mad at me for leaving without telling you and…" she started but Enjolras suddenly held up his hand and interrupted.

"Let me stop you right there. You see, that's where you're wrong. You're so dwelled in your own world that you're making this all about you. Poor Eponine, her boyfriend cheated on her. Poor Eponine, she had to move to entire fucking country to get away from him. Poor Eponine, everyone's mad at her now that she's in New York. Poor her, she had been through a lot." Enjolras mocked.

"What the hell are you talking about? I am not making this all about me!" she yelled, angry at his false accusation.

"But you are! You should know by now that I am not angry at you for leaving to Malaysia!"

"Then why are you acting like this?! Why are you so pissed off?!"

Enjolras sighed, looking exasperated. He rubbed his face and then shook his head, as if she had disappointed him. He walked towards the door and said, "You know what? If you can't even figure that out for yourself, I cannot help you. The answer is obvious. You just don't see it. Forget it. Don't bother to talk to me anymore. Get the hell out of my apartment,"

"NO! You cannot say those things to me and not bother to explain it to me!" she yelled, tears stinging in her eyes but Enjolras had already opened the door. His long finger signalled her to leave, as if she's just another nuisance that he did not even bother to handle. This felt like an ugly rejection and it hurt her badly. Eponine stayed glued to her spot, refusing to go, refusing to let him had his way.

"Leave, Eponine,"

"NO! I am not going anywhere!"

"I said, LEAVE!"

"NO! I am not leaving until we have this talk! Until we figure out what's going to be of us! I cannot do this anymore, Enjolras! I have suffered ENOUGH! Our friends have suffered enough when they had to choose sides! Just because you're an egotistical, selfish, immature bastard who would rather let us go through stressful, awkward situations instead of settling this like a grown up…"

"Are you really blaming all this on me?!" Enjolras exclaimed, his eyes blazing with annoyance and disbelief.

"I am trying to settle this thing but you're backing out!" Eponine bellowed. She crossed her arms, looking challengingly at Enjolras, knowing it would drive him absolutely crazy.

"FINE! You wanted to talk? Okay, let's talk!" Enjolras roared, slamming the door behind him. Eponine was shocked that she managed to get to his nerves that fast but she refused to cringe at the sound of the slammed door, refusing to let herself be intimidated by him. Her gaze followed him and he finally opened his mouth to express his dissatisfactions that he felt in the past three years.

"You left, Eponine! You left and you did not give me a chance to fix _us_! Yes, I made a mistake but I would do anything to make it up to you, to save what we had because our relationship meant _everything_ to me. _You_ meant everything to me. Heck, I even planned to propose to you, for God's sake," Enjolras began. His voice was loud and he sounded furious. "Fuck, Eponine, you were my whole _world_! You left without saying a word, without even wanting to give us another try! Clearly our relationship meant nothing to you. Clearly, _I_ meant absolutely nothing to you!" Enjolras yelled as he finally lost his temper.

He was standing right in front of Eponine now, his breath ragged, his face only inches from her. She could feel his hot breath on her face and he could feel hers too and that sent shivers to their spine. Eponine looked the other way, strutted away from him. She had tears streaming down her face. His accusation was wrong, wrong and wrong. How could he think that he meant nothing to her? How could he think that what they had meant nothing to her? He was everything to her. He's the only one she had ever truly loved. She cherished their relationship very much, unlike what he said. Eponine then stared at him in disbelief. He's the one who cheated. He's the one who ruined everything. Why would she be in a relationship with someone whom she could no longer trust?

With that thought, she too, lost her temper.

"Why the hell would I give us another try?!" she bellowed. "If it's anyone who didn't value our relationship, it was you, Enjolras. You're the one who cheated. _You're the one who slept with someone else_!"

Enjolras rolled his eyes as he groaned. He looked extremely frustrated.

"Do you even hear yourself right now? _I_ didn't treasure our relationship? I was the one who wanted to propose and you're the one who freaked out. Yes, I slept with someone else but that was one big mistake which I made when I was fucking drunk! You knew that I loved you and only you. You knew that sleeping with that woman meant nothing but a drunken mistake, that it's a mistake that I would not repeat! I told you over and over again that I loved you but you did not believe me! You refused to believe me!"

"Do _you_ even hear yourself right now? You said you cared about our relationship but you slept with someone else! How is that valuing our relationship? We had one big fight and you went to sleep with another woman! How would you expect me to ever trust you again after that?"

"God! Eponine, I said I was sorry and…"

Eponine groaned, feeling that this argument was petty and infuriating. She felt like they were going in circles and there's no way that they're going to settle anything. But she was not about to give up and let him win. No. Not just yet.

"You're sorry? Alright, let me get this straight. If I were in your place, let's just say… I was the one who slept with someone else, would you forgive me?" Eponine asked. Enjolras was caught off guard by her question.

"What? I mean, yes, of course I would" Enjolras answered and Eponine sensed the hesitation in his voice, which meant that he was not telling the entire truth.

"So you are telling me that you would forgive me even if you could not get the picture of me sprawled on another guy's bed out of your head, sweaty and breathing heavily because of all the sex we're having" she purred, trying to provoke him to give up. She moved closer, secretly satisfied when he stepped back, his jaw clenched, a clear sign that he's enraged and disgusted, so she continued, "his large hands caressing my skin, his sweet, sweet mouth kissing me, going down on me. Then I moaned his name loudly instead of yours because you're no longer in my mind and I could only think of him…"

"Alright, stop it, stop it!" Enjolras yelled as he stopped her. He closed his ears, refusing to hear more details but she was relentless. She kept approaching him until he held her at arms' length and looked at her in the eyes. His cheeks flushed and he was shaking, "Alright, I would be extremely pissed off at you but I would still want to be with you. I would not run away to another fucking country just to get away from you. I would stay with you to fix us. I would never hurt you like you hurt me. _Never,_" he said dejectedly and he pushed her away from him.

Eponine shook her head and moved away from Enjolras. She sat on the couch, burying her head in her hands. She felt tears streaming down her face again as she realized that he was right. He would never leave her like she left him and that thought made her feel sad. It was extremely selfish of her to just take off without giving them a proper closure. It was mean of her to give up on the love of her life in the matter of seconds. Right now, she was feeling guilty and mad, and sick to her stomach thinking of her past actions. She had hurt so many people and she hated herself for that.

Enjolras heard her sob and he heaved a sigh. He hated it when Eponine was crying and it killed him knowing that he's the reason for her tears and he could not comfort her. Not knowing what else to do, he decided to sit next to her and said nothing more. They sat in silence and Eponine began, "I am so fucked up. Why did you even love me at the first place?"

He could not help but to chuckle. He cracked a little smile and murmured sadly, "Yes, you are a little bit fucked up but in a way, I am too. We're both two fucked up people who happened to share intense love with one another and along the way, created a whole lot of mess that now, none of them knew how to fix." Eponine laughed and he could not help but to laugh with her.

"Enjolras, I know that you hate me and I understand why. I deserve everything that you said," Eponine started once she stopped laughing. "You've hurt me and I have hurt you so that does not make any of us the better person. I guess I just want to tell you that… that I don't hold any grudges anymore. I don't care about what you did three years ago. I want to forget all that and put the past behind us. I want to hang out with my friends, you included, without feeling all this negative energy," she turned to look at him "I want a fresh start and I know you do too. I know that it's hard for us to start being friends but I am willing to try. But I cannot do that alone. I cannot fix the mess that we've made alone. I need you. Can we try to be friends? Can we… can we do that, Enjolras?"

Enjolras turned to her and their eyes met. She's staring at him, her eyes unsure and probably a little bit scared of his answer. Enjolras did not know what to say. He did not know whether both of them could be friends but he too was tired of all this. If Eponine wanted nothing but to try to make things better, then he should not let her do everything by herself because he caused part of the damage too. Therefore, he slowly nodded and took Eponine's hand in his.

"We can try,"

Eponine beamed, putting her other hand on his and squeezed. She mouthed, "Thank you."

Enjolras then searched his pocket for a handkerchief and when he found it, he handed it to Eponine.

"Wipe your tears. You know I hate it when you're crying."

Eponine chortled and Enjolras could not help to feel his heart soar hearing her laugh again. He had not heard that in a while and he forgot how beautiful it sounded. She took the handkerchief from him gladly and wiped the tears that stained on her cheeks. She figured that she must look horrible now as her make-up was ruined but she could not care less. She felt like a huge bulk in her chest was lifted and she could finally breathe. Eponine knew that it would take a lot of effort from her and Enjolras to finally be okay with each other's presence but she was thankful that she wasn't alone in this.

"So… are we good?" she asked.

"Yeah, we're good." Enjolras answered.

Eponine glanced at her watch and was surprised to see the time. She suddenly stood up, surprising Enjolras as she hurriedly collect her coat and bag. Eponine made her way to the door but she remembered Enjolras who just got up from his seat so she turned to say goodbye.

"Shit shit shit shit shit," Eponine cursed, "I am late for work. I'll see you later," she said absent-mindedly as she checked her bag in case she missed anything. Enjolras extended his hand for a handshake but Eponine did not realize that as she was too busy with her bag. Unconsciously, she stood on tip-toe and kissed him on his cheek. Enjolras froze and Eponine suddenly realized what she had done.

The moment was awkward because none of them knew how to react. Eponine faked a cough and murmured something (her heart was pounding so fast that she did not even remember what she said) and quickly dashed out of Enjolras' apartment after she picked up the box of her old stuff, closing the door behind her. Enjolras stood still at his spot, still shocked at Eponine's sudden action. Ignoring the butterflies in his stomach, he shrugged it off and hurriedly grabbed his suitcase to get to his office.

As he's on his way to his workplace, Enjolras denied the fluttering feelings in his heart from the chaste kiss as he touched his cheek at the spot where Eponine kissed him. Eponine attempted to ignore the soaring feeling in her heart knowing that she and Enjolras are in better terms and she could see him again soon. Eponine tried hard to get rid of Enjolras from her mind all day and Enjolras tried to do the exact same thing as he walked into his office.

Unfortunately, this time, both of them were not quite successful.

**A/N**: Hello! Oh God this is not an easy chapter to write (alright let's face it, every chapter is hard for me to write. While other people find it easy to write stories, I find it really, really hard because I am not at all creative). Anyway, what do you think?

I am sorry if it's kind of crappy and not what you expected but it's 3 a.m and I am tired but I need to post this or I won't be able to enjoy my birthday today as I have been writing this for a week and I need to release it in order to move on to the next chapter.

Okay I am babbling nonsense and I am off to bed now. Bye!


	7. The One with Eponine Reminiscing

Chapter 7

_This is the longest chapter of this story. It's over 7000 words, can you believe it? _

_I apologize in advance for any grammar mistakes. _

_Enjoy!_

Eponine sighed as she leaned back on her chair. She stared at the blank document on her computer screen, wondering why she could not write the article that she was assigned to. It was not that difficult. It was definitely not the most difficult article she had ever written but why couldn't she write it? Why couldn't she focus?

Actually she knew the answer to her own questions. The thought of Enjolras, again, lingered in her mind. She cursed, feeling mad at herself. It had been a week since she last saw him and because of their busy work schedule, she did not get the chance to see him again ever since. Was it wrong if she said that she missed him? Yes, yes, it's wrong. He was her ex, for God's sake and they broke up for a good reason. It was wrong for her to feel this way. Stop it Eponine, stop it!

She shook her head, slapping her own cheeks as she forced herself to stop thinking about Enjolras. Eponine closed the Microsoft Word window on her computer, accepting the fact that she was definitely not going to get the article done by today. She needed a break, to clear her mind a little bit.

Eponine moved the cursor and clicked on a 'Picture' document to view some old pictures of her and the Amis back when they're in college. When she's stressed, the thought of her friends calmed her down, which Eponine thought was ironic because she used to be quite a loner. The first picture that she clicked was a picture of her and Marius. She had her arms around him and her head on his shoulder. Marius was smiling sheepishly at the camera, looking as cute as ever.

…

_Eponine Thenardier was never good at making new friends. It was not because she was shy or socially awkward. It was that she could not trust anyone. How could she? She did not have good parental figures when she grew up. Her parents made a living by lying and stealing. Not to mention, they also never failed to make her and her siblings feel like they were nothing but trash. If she could not trust even her own parents, who else should she trust? She preferred to be left alone because no one was worth her trust. She's a loner, she was always a loner._

_Except one day, she met Marius Pontmercy._

_She knew Marius the longest because they met in high school. Unlike Eponine, Marius was extremely popular. Every girl (and boy) wanted to date him and be like him. He was charming and intelligent, not to mention incredibly handsome._

_He was the one who approached her first. She was reading in the library when Marius came to her and asked about the book she was reading. Although at first she thought he was on some kind of dare that popular kids in her school always make to humiliate outcasts like her, the sincerity and curiosity in Marius' eyes said otherwise. He really was interested, so Eponine did not have the heart to tell him to leave her alone. They chatted and clicked instantly. _

_Eponine and Marius was an odd pair because of their differences. So when people spotted them having lunch together or even spending most of their time in each other's company, they could not help to give the pair suspicious glances. They were jealous of her and after some time, they even called her his 'shadow', which Marius found very offensive. Eponine never cared about what people think of her but Marius did. So, he cut off connections with anyone who insulted Eponine, saying that there was no place in his life for people who disrespected his friend. Eponine never needed him to defend her but it was nice to have a friend who stood up for you, and she was, for the first time in her life, truly happy._

_It was only the matter of time when she started to pay more attention to the tiniest details about him, from the spark in his eyes when he told her about his interests, the giggle he made when he told her a joke (yes, Marius was the kind of person who laughed at his own joke, which Eponine did not get most of the time) and the encouraging smile he gave her when she was feeling down. Then there's that fluttering sensation in her stomach when he hugged her and that incessant fear of losing him. Most of all, there's this constant ache in her heart when she was not around him. See, she was not really a person who got attached that easily but it was different with Marius. She loved him._

_She tried to deny it but she could not. Eponine Thenardier was in love with her own best friend, Marius Pontmercy. Well, fuck._

…

Eponine chuckled remembering her old feelings for Marius. He was her first love. He made her feel happy, loved and cherished. Although he did not return her feelings, there was still nothing that Eponine cherished more than her friendship with Marius. She did not know what she would do without him, just like he was always lost without her. There was no friend like Marius. He was special.

Then, Eponine clicked on the next picture. It was a picture of her with the Amis. She was sitting between Enjolras and Combeferre. Next to Combeferre were Courfeyrac, Jehan, Bahorel and Grantaire while sitting beside Enjolras were Marius, Feuilly, Joly and Bossuet. She giggled seeing how young and innocent they looked. She almost lost herself because she was laughing too hard seeing the moustache that Grantaire used to have until Jehan finally told him to shave it off because it aged him, and made him look like some creepy porn star.

She remembered this picture really well. This was taken the first time Marius brought her to meet the famous Amis.

…

_It was their first year in college. Marius and Eponine got into the same university, except now Marius was majoring in business while Eponine was in journalism. Now that she was in journalism, she should get used to being around people but she was still utterly uncomfortable. Having only one friend throughout high school did your social skills no good. Eponine was in her comfort zone and did not want to get out of it. Even Marius had taken notice of her discomfort because when she was not with him, she was either at the library or outside his class, reading while she waited for him. Marius could not let this go on. He knew that Eponine was actually feeling lonely so he took the matters to find her new friends very seriously. And what was the better way to start other than by introducing her to his friends?_

"_Come on, Eponine. They're really cool people!" Marius almost had to drag Eponine to the bar where his friends usually gather after class. Eponine whined, trying to free herself from Marius' grasp._

"_Listen here, Pontmercy. I don't do well with 'cool people'. People generally don't like me. You don't have to do this!" _

"_That is because they never try to see the incredible person you really are," Marius stopped and put his arm around her shoulders, "And although I am not that keen of sharing you, I think you would want to befriend other people other than silly, boring me."_

_Eponine scoffed, "I don't find you boring."_

"_Oh, I am boring, alright. Come on, please. Do this for me?" Marius begged, making that puppy face, the one he always made when he did not want Eponine to say no to his requests. Eponine then weakly nodded and let Marius led her to the bar._

_The bar was not crowded but there were still quite a lot of people. It was not Eponine's scene. She felt Marius' grip on her hand tightened and she knew that he was not going to let her out of this. So she took a deep breath, preparing herself for what's coming. _

_He first approached two young men at the booth who seemed to be in a heated discussion. They stopped talking when they saw Marius coming their way. They waved at Marius and watched Eponine curiously, making her uncomfortable._

"_Hey Marius. Is this your girlfriend?" one of them asked. Eponine snorted, earning a glare from Marius. The two seemed to be quite amused seeing Eponine dismissing their false guess._

"_Come on man, she's too pretty to be his girlfriend." The other answered and Eponine smiled at that compliment. Marius however, looked quite offended but decided to shrug it off._

"_Guys, I want you to meet my friend. Eponine, this is Joly and Bossuet. Guys, this is Eponine Thenardier." _

_Joly and Bossuet gave her a welcoming smile and invited her to join them at the booth. Eponine was about to join them when Marius suddenly said, "We'll join you later. I need to introduce her to the others. Where are they, by the way?"_

"_They're at the bar, I guess. We told them get us drinks but wow, it's been twenty minutes and they're still not here. I guess there's a new hot bartender." Bossuet said._

"_Oh great. Alright, let's go, Ep." Marius suddenly pulled her away from Joly and Bossuet. She gave them a weak smile and waved. They grinned, and Eponine knew that they're going to get along just fine._

"_They look like they're best friends," Eponine started. Marius still held her hand, not letting her go._

"_Oh, they are. They went literally everywhere together. They share the same flat, they go to breakfast together and they always arrive together. Probably because they share a lot of things in common. They're best friends, like us, only we're not yet as close as they are," Marius said, and she felt his grip on her tightened as they made their way through the dance floor._

_They got to the bar, when Eponine was introduced to Grantaire, Jehan, Feuilly and Bahorel. Jehan offered to buy her a drink, which she gladly accepted. They chatted and Eponine did not even realize that Marius left her to go to the dance floor. Eponine found it quite fascinating how she could get along really well with them as it usually took quite a time for her to trust anyone. Perhaps it was because Grantaire was funny and Jehan was incredibly kind. Feuilly and Bahorel were brilliant and Eponine was just about to join their conversation when Marius patted her back._

_She turned around and saw a very attractive man beside Marius. He smiled at her, showing his cute dimples. He had curly dark brown hair and a pair of beautiful chocolate eyes. _

"_Hey there, beautiful. How are you doing?" He flirted. Eponine blinked, not knowing what to do because no one had ever flirted with her before. She turned to Marius, who was glaring at Courfeyrac, looking like he was ready to beat him to pulp. Grantaire snorted in his drinks, followed by the sound of him groaning in pain because Jehan punched his arm, telling him that it was not funny._

"_Are you for real? No, Courfeyrac. You are not allowed to hit on my friend!" Marius exclaimed exasperatedly. Courfeyrac looked really annoyed that Marius blocked his move. _

"_B-but Marius," he whined. If Marius was trying to tell him to give up the chase for Eponine, he was doing it all wrong. The more he forbids him, the more he wanted her. Courfeyrac then turned his gaze to Eponine and saw her eyeing Marius with that kind of look which he knew very well. She was in love with Marius, and this dickhead did not see that. Courfeyrac scoffed and was about to open his mouth to say that he was not going to try to sleep with Eponine when…_

"_No! She is off limits!" Marius said sternly and moved to stand between Eponine and Courfeyrac. Eponine shook her head and pushed Marius aside. _

"_Marius, I can take care of myself. Nice to meet you, Courfeyrac. I'm Eponine." She extended her hand to Courfeyrac and he shook it. He studied her for a while, and then gave her his most charming smile._

"_I think we're going to get along just fine, Eponine." He winked, causing her to blush. She nodded and let go of his hand. _

_Courfeyrac offered to buy her a drink, ignoring Marius' protests. Eponine did not know why he was so worried. She was never going to hook up with his friend, no matter how attractive Courfeyrac was. No. They were here because he wanted her to meet his friends and perhaps hoped that she would befriend them too. She liked all of them so far but she could not imagine dating any of them._

"_Hi Enjolras!" she heard Marius called and she groaned. Seriously, how many more of his friends did she have to meet today?_

"_Hello Combeferre!" Marius called again. Well, she hoped that this was the last. She turned to meet his other two friends. The two young men just got into the bar, probably because they had just finished class, judging by their clothing. They're tall and lean, and the taller of those two stepped forward and shook Marius' hand. His gaze fell on Eponine and Marius seemed to have taken notice._

"_Eponine, this is Combeferre. Ferre, this is my friend, Eponine." He introduced her to Combeferre, who looked simply charming with his spectacles and dimpled smile. Eponine beamed, causing the man to turn red as he shook her hand._

"_N-nice to meet you, Eponine," he stuttered. He then shot an angry look at Grantaire who snorted and again, earned a glare from Jehan. _

_If this was Combeferre, the other one must be Enjolras. She turned and found Enjolras leaning against the counter, watching her intently, studying her. Eponine remembered Marius telling her that Enjolras was like the leader of their group and now she knew why. Compared to the other boys who looked carefree and joyful, Enjolras looked stern and disciplined, radiating the unmistakable leadership vibe, intimidating and attracting Eponine at the same time. Nevertheless, he was very, very handsome. His striking blue eyes and jaw so sharp that it seemed to be able to cut glass were the first things that Eponine noticed when she first laid eyes on him. Her eyes met his gaze and she could not help but to feel her heart beating rapidly against her chest._

"_And this is Enjolras." _

"_Hi," Eponine cracked a little smile as she shook his hand._

"_Hi." He uttered and winced when he heard how hoarse his voice sounded. He then nodded at Eponine as he let go of her hand and turned to the bartender, ordering a bottle of beer. Eponine heard Grantaire chuckle and murmured, _

"_Oh boy, things are going to get really interesting."_

_Eponine did not understand what he was implying._

…

Eponine smiled fondly looking at the picture. Even after all this time, Eponine wondered how she got from being a complete loner (who only had one friend) to having a group of friends who were not only funny with but also incredibly understanding and supportive. She was deeply grateful to have the Amis in her life for she knew that there would be no one who could ever replace them. They made her forget about her terrible past, for they're convinced that it was important to keep looking forward. In fact, she thought that she would not be where she was right now without their encouragement and support. She really loved her friends and she would trust them with her life. It had been years since they all got together and she really, really missed them.

She held back the tears in her eyes that threatened to fall as she clicked on the next picture. It was a picture of her and Cosette. She had her arms around the blonde as she smiled to the camera. Cosette was also beaming and she looked radiant. It was funny how much Eponine loved Cosette now while back then, she used to not stand her, mostly because she was jealous of her and Marius. But then, it was only for a brief moment. It was impossible to hate Cosette.

Cosette was optimistic and kind, and her positive outlook on life was infectious. She was the source of love and hope for the group just like she was for Marius. They always look for her when they needed advice and could always depend on her to keep their secrets. Cosette never failed to cheer everyone up when they were feeling down. She also made the best chocolate chip cookies. Other than that, she was always so protective of them, like she was their mother. Eponine still wondered how someone petite like Cosette could cause physical damage to anyone who tried to hurt any of them. Perhaps it was from the karate that she learned when she was a child.

Nevertheless, Cosette was an amazing woman and Marius was lucky to have her. Eponine could not think of anyone more deserving of each other than Marius and Cosette. They were like match made in heaven.

If back then someone asked her whether she would love Cosette as much as she did now, she would laugh. She remembered how unhappy she was when she first found out about her.

…

_It was two years after she first met the Amis. It was the most wonderful two years of Eponine's life. Right now, she was walking towards the apartment that Grantaire shared with Combeferre and Enjolras. It was Friday, and the Amis would gather at their apartment to watch movies and just hang out. It's their group's tradition. _

_Eponine reached the apartment ten minutes later and knocked on the door. There wasn't any answer so Eponine twisted the doorknob and was glad to find that it was unlocked. She strutted into the apartment as if she owned the place and found Grantaire in the living room, completely engrossed watching a show on television. He did not realize that Eponine had entered his house and Eponine was sure that he did not even hear her knocking the door. She smiled fondly seeing Grantaire wearing his favourite green hoodie, the one that she got him last Christmas and his bag was at his side. Eponine knew right away that just like her; he just got back from class. _

_Eponine took a seat next to him and the couch shifted. Grantaire turned his head from the TV to Eponine, back to the TV and back to Eponine again. His eyes widened in shock._

"_Jesus Christ, when and how the hell did you get in?"_

"_A minute ago, the door is unlocked." Eponine answered absent-mindedly, her eyes on the television._

"_Have you heard this very noble act called knocking?" Grantaire asked sarcastically, raising a disbelieving eyebrow. _

_Eponine gave him a mischievous smile, "Yes but it is cold outside and if I waited for you to open the door, I might freeze to death. You would not want that to happen, would you?"_

_Grantaire scoffed at her overdramatic statement, "I don't want you to die but next time, knock harder or something. Combeferre, Enjolras or even me might have… well, people over and I want to spare you the trauma." He said jokingly. He pulled her to him and she lay down, resting her head on his lap._

"_That is very gallant of you, R, but I have nothing to be worried about. I doubt your nerd roommates are ever going to get a girl home," she laughed but then her smiled faded when she saw Grantaire glaring at her. She sighed, "Alright, I am sorry. I won't do it again. I would wait outside and knock until you open the door. I might freeze to death but it didn't matter because I would die waiting for you." _

_Grantaire laughed. He could not stay mad at her no matter how much he tried. That's the amazing thing about Eponine. She could annoy you until you feel like tearing your hair out but then she made it up by being so charming that you could not help but to form a smile on your face. _

_Grantaire played with her auburn hair as he watched the show and Eponine closed her eyes blissfully. She did not like it when people play with her hair but Grantaire was an exception. It was probably because he was her best friend or probably because he had magic hands but either way, Eponine did not mind him with her hair. The two best friends fell into a comfortable silence and no sound was heard except from the television._

_However, their silence did not last long. They heard someone opened the door and Eponine turned to see who it was. It was Combeferre and he brought dinner. He saw her peeking from the couch and beamed. _

"_Ferre! You brought dinner. Thank you, you beautiful, beautiful man. I am starving!" she jumped out of the couch and then winced from pain because Grantaire's fingers were still tangled in her hair. She swatted his hands away and ran towards Combeferre. She quickly snatched the plastic bags from his hands and brought them to the dining table._

"_I think we should wait until everyone's here, Ep."_

_Eponine turned to Combeferre and pouted her lips. It took everything Combeferre got to not give up and let her have her food. _

"_Don't do that. You know I cannot say no when you do that." Combeferre murmured shyly. Eponine smiled wickedly. _

"_I know. That is exactly why I did it," She purred seductively, running her hand along his biceps, amused seeing how Combeferre face turned into a lovely shade of red. Their eyes locked and Combeferre took her hand in his. The doorbell suddenly rang._

"_Never mind, keep flirting. I'll get the door." Grantaire said sarcastically as he rose from the couch. Combeferre turned even redder. Grantaire opened the door and moved aside to let his friends in. Joly, Bahorel, Feuilly and Bossuet, as usual, went straight to living room while Jehan, Enjolras and Courfeyrac joined them at the kitchen to help out. Eponine looked around and realized that someone was missing._

"_Where's Marius?"_

_She noticed that Jehan and Courfeyrac froze, suddenly busy with the cutleries. Enjolras rolled his eyes, and said, "He'll be here." _

_Marius did not come even after they all had finished their dinner. Eponine started to get really impatient and worried. Enjolras saw her fidgeting in her seat and assured her that Marius was okay. Eponine glared at him. How did he know?_

_Then, they heard the door opened and Marius came into the kitchen. He looked dazed and his mind seemed to be anywhere else but here._

"_You're okay, Marius? You looked like you have seen a ghost." Joly asked, concerned. Marius simply shook his head and declined when Grantaire offered him wine. He was quiet. He did not even realize that his friends were concerned about him. Eponine observed him. She was his friend for years and she knew that he would only act the way he's acting now for only three reasons only. First, if he actually saw a ghost but that was unlikely. Two, if he found out devastating news about his family. Three…. Oh God, no, please, anything but reason number three. _

"_I think… I think I am in love." Marius finally confessed, proving Eponine right. She felt like her heart had dropped to the floor, shattered into millions of tiny pieces. She sucked in breath as she tried to hold back tears which stubbornly streamed down her face. The Amis was looking at her sympathetically and they did not even hear Marius talking about the girl of his dreams. Eponine did not like it when they feel sorry for her as it made her feel week and she could not stand being in the same room with all of them right now. So she stood up and made her way out of the apartment. She heard Enjolras muttered, "That was a dick move, Pontmercy." followed by the sounds of agreement from the Amis. It was supposed to make her feel better knowing that the Amis got her back but actually, it made her feel smaller than ever. It was like she was so fragile that she needed a group of boys to defend her._

_She slammed the door and quickly descended down the stairs. Eponine heard footsteps following her from behind and knew that it was Enjolras._

"_Leave me alone, Enjolras."_

"_Eponine…"_

"_No, don't!" she exclaimed as she started to run down the street, trying to get away from him. He did not give up the chase and within seconds, he got to her. Eponine, who just got her heart broken, did not have the energy to tell him to fuck off and leave her alone. So, when he pulled her into his embrace, she buried her face in his chest and started to cry her eyes out. She heard him saying things like 'he's not worth this' and 'everything is going to be okay' and 'hush, it's okay, I'm here' as she sobbed like a baby in his arms. Surprisingly, his voice soothed her and she was comforted._

…

Eponine frowned. How exactly did the thought of Enjolras get into her mind again?

Eponine remembered that back in college, she did not get along quite well with Enjolras. She did not know why but both of them used to not be able to go three words without contradicting each other. Whenever they were in the same room, even the smallest disagreement could lead to a heated debate that would last for days. Nevertheless, he pushed her to be better. When he was around, she was always the best version of herself and it felt good. In a way, she loved arguing with him. She took immense pleasure when she managed to prove him wrong and she learned something if he proved her wrong. It's a win-win situation anyway.

Because of their constant bickering, she always thought that he actually hated her guts. It was until that night when Marius told them about Cosette that she found out that he actually cared about her. It was actually so sweet of him. She could not help but to smile.

She clicked on the next picture and felt her smile slowly faded. It was a picture of her and Enjolras. The picture was taken when they told the Amis that they're officially dating. Enjolras had his arms around her waist and she was kissing his cheeks. She could see that Enjolras was blushing because he was not used to public display of affection but he agreed to that one picture. They looked so happy and Eponine remembered how she first found out about his feelings for her.

…

_Eponine just had lunch with Cosette and now she was on her way to Grantaire's apartment because she promised to look at the art that he made for his assignment. Cosette offered to drop her off but she declined, saying that she preferred walking._

_Cosette and Marius had been in a relationship for a year. She supposed she should get over her bitterness by now but it was hard. It was not like she still had feelings for Marius anymore but she still felt that pang in her heart when Marius would always choose to be with Cosette than hanging out with her and the Amis. This attitude from him did not help in making her like his girlfriend at all._

_It was raining and Eponine was soaking wet by the time she arrived at Grantaire's apartment. She knocked hard on the door, hugging her body as she tried to warm herself. It took only minutes for the door to fly open and standing before her was Enjolras. He looked surprised to see her, probably because he thought she still had class. Nevertheless, he moved aside and let her in._

_She stepped inside and quickly peeled off her coat. She hung it on the coat hanger and made her way to the living room, warming herself by the fireplace._

_When she felt like she had warmed herself enough, she sat on the couch and sent Grantaire a text, telling him that she was already at his place. Enjolras came into the living room and wordlessly, handed her a cup of hot chocolate. _

"_Thanks," she uttered. _

"_You're welcome." He replied as he sat next to her. He then took the book that was on the table and started to read. Eponine stared at him as he read, smiling because he had never looked more attractive. She loved seeing him wearing reading glasses. Eponine felt like she could watch him forever._

"_Is there something that you want to talk about, Eponine?"_

"_What? No." she retorted quickly._

"_Then stop staring. I cannot focus if you're looking at me while I'm reading." He cracked a little smile and looked her way. _

_Eponine blushed, despite herself. She did not know why Enjolras had that effect on her nowadays. Perhaps it was because she finally saw him as more than her friend to argue with. Perhaps she finally saw how he was always with her when she needed him. After Marius told them about Cosette, Enjolras was the one who stood up for her. She had never seen him that pissed off at any of his friends (which meant something because Eponine used to really get to his nerves the first few months of their friendship). He would go all lengths to hurt anyone who had hurt her. She would never forget how he got into a fight with Montparnasse when she reluctantly told him that he cheated on her. Most of all, she loved that despite their differences, he still loved and cherished her for who she really was._

"_I had lunch with Cosette today," she told him._

"_Oh? How did that go?"_

"_It was bearable. I guess this whole Marius thing still hurts," Eponine admitted. She saw Enjolras' grip on the book tightened and he took a deep breath before asking the next question._

"_Still? Ep, it had been a year."_

"_You have never been in love before, Enjolras. You don't know."_

_His eyes were still on his book but Eponine could tell that he was not really reading. _

"_What makes you think that I have never been in love before?"_

"_You don't seem like someone who had. Have you?" she asked. She could not help to feel a little jealous at anyone who ever managed to get to Enjolras' heart. She did not understand why she would feel jealous but she did not want to think about that now. _

_Enjolras turned to look at her and smiled weakly, "I have. And it sucks. She was too caught up with her own feelings for this other guy who never appreciated her. It hurt seeing her like that but I could not do anything. I tried though."_

"_Well she is dumb. Any girl would be lucky to have you. I should know. You've been nothing but a great friend to me and I am sure that one day, you'll make some girl really, really happy," she murmured. She could not help the tone of bitterness in her last sentence. It hurt saying it. She tried to shrug the feeling of by leaning on Enjolras' shoulder. Enjolras then put down his book and snaked his arm around her, pulling her into a warm embrace. He smelled of books and coffee, and she loved that._

"_I doubt that but thanks" he whispered._

"_You know what sucks the most? It's that I have never seen Marius this happy and I have been his friend for years, Enjolras. I would do anything to make him smile like when he's with Cosette but I failed. I feel like I am never enough for anyone. I feel like one day, all of you will find someone better and I will be left alone. I don't want to be alone anymore. I have lost Marius, whom I have known since high school and I feel like it's the matter of time before I lose all of you too. I know it's irrational and stupid but I- I can't help it," Eponine started to rant, tears streaming down her cheeks as she confided Enjolras her biggest fear. Suddenly, she felt Enjolras pulling away from her. She whimpered at the loss of contact and looked at him questioningly. _

"_Stop. Just stop that. Stop thinking that you're not enough. Eponine, you are the most stubborn, the most hot-headed and the most infuriating person I have ever encountered in my life but you are also the strongest, the most incredible and the most beautiful woman I know. I for one, feel lucky that you are in my life. Fuck Pontmercy if he doesn't know how to appreciate you. I want you to never, ever say that I am going to leave you because I won't. You came into my life and I know you're going to stay. Just like I know I am going to stay in yours. So please, stop thinking that we're going to leave you because we won't. I know I won't." _

_Eponine felt her heart soar as she listened to Enjolras' words. She was moved but at the same time a little bit alarmed seeing how intimate this conversation was becoming. However, she could not stop herself from asking the next question._

"_You really think that I am beautiful?"_

_Enjolras seemed to be caught off-guard by her question. She knew that he was thinking his way out of it but then gave up. _

_With a defeated sigh, he finally admitted, "You are so beautiful, it hurts me sometimes."_

_Eponine could not help but to blush. Enjolras looked amused to see her turn red so he chortled and pulled her into his embrace. Eponine tried to enlighten the mood and uttered, "Thank you, Enjolras. That is very kind of you."_

_Enjolras was quiet and she turned to face him. She found him gazing at her and he had never, ever looked more attractive. She had never seen him this close, really. His skin was flawless, and of course that cheek crinkles that he had was always so adorable. As if by instinct, she felt herself moving closer to him until their foreheads touched. They were so close now. She could feel his hot breath on her and she shivered with anticipation. She really, really wanted to kiss him and she wished that he would just move already._

_As if he read her mind, he leaned forward and kissed her. His kiss was slow but sensuous. She felt a rush of warm feeling filling her body and she felt… alive. Impatient as she was, she tilted her head, deepening her kiss, showing him that he did not have to be nervous because she wanted this as much as he did. She heard him moan against her lips and could not help but to feel proud that she had this much effect on him. She felt his hand travelling up her thigh and stopped at her waist. A whimper escaped her lips when he pulled her closer, pushing their bodies together until there was no gap between them. Their kiss gradually intensified, making her clung to him like her was the only steady thing in this dizzy, swaying world. He made her forget about everything else, like there was nothing else in this world but them. It felt good, it felt right and Eponine did not want him to stop._

_Suddenly, they heard the door opened and they heard Grantaire said, "Hey Enjolras, have you seen… oh my God!" before quickly pulled apart. Both of them were breathing harshly and Eponine stole a glance at Enjolras who was looking at her, lips swollen and face red. _

"_Were you guys making out?!" Grantaire exclaimed. Eponine quickly rose from the couch and made her way out of the apartment while Enjolras quickly went to his bedroom. None of them wanted to talk about this right now as they were so confused about what just happened, so they left Grantaire alone in the living room, shocked and puzzled._

…

_Eponine had not heard anything from Enjolras after that. It had been a week. Grantaire, being a great friend he was, told her that he would not say anything about what he saw until both Eponine and Enjolras figured what that was all about. He also told her that ever since that incident happened, Enjolras spent most of his time locked in his room, refusing to talk to anybody, not even Combeferre. _

_Eponine ran her fingers through her hair. She felt so damn confused. It had been a week of utter silence and it's getting tiring. It hurt thinking that Enjolras might think that their kiss meant nothing for him. It meant something for her. She had never felt so alive, so connected with anyone. She felt close to him and she realized that she fucking liked him. She supposed she had liked him for a while now but she never realized it. Both of them were too busy debating and arguing every time they met. There was no time to even think about their feelings for one another, Eponine thought._

_Eponine turned her head to the door of the café and she was surprised to see Enjolras' there. She quickly hid her face behind the newspaper she bought, and glad that he did not see her there. She peeped to see him and frowned when she saw him with another girl. They looked like they were catching up on something but then she saw Enjolras laughed. The girl patted his arm and hugged him. _

_Eponine felt like she could burst right that moment. Who the hell was that woman? Why was he with her? Who the hell gave her the right to touch her Enjolras?_

"_Your Enjolras? One kiss and suddenly he's your Enjolras?" she said to herself. _

_Nevertheless, when the girl kissed him on the cheeks before she went away, Eponine felt like she could attack her right that moment. As if it were, she needed to be cool. That might be his girlfriend. _

_Perhaps their kiss really did mean nothing to Enjolras. Perhaps nothing could ever happen between them. She should learn to accept that._

…

_She could not be cool. Right now she was seething with anger and jealousy. She felt betrayed. _

_She banged the door to Enjolras' apartment and she heard him move inside. He opened the door and his eyes widened in shock to see her. She realized that she might look like a mad woman right now, with her hair messy and eyes blazing with fire, but she could not care less. _

_"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" she yelled as she got into the apartment. Enjolras stepped backwards, clearly intimidated by her. He had never seen her life this and he flinched when Eponine slammed the door with a force that he never thought someone her size possessed._

_"What the hell is wrong with me?! You are the one who came to my apartment, screaming like a mad woman. What the hell is wrong with you?!" Enjolras bellowed._

_"You! It's you! You kissed me and then you completely ignored me. Then today, oh guess what? I saw you with another woman?! Who is that bitch, Enjolras? You know what, no, I don't want to know," she stopped. She took a deep breath before she continued, "Fuck, Enjolras. You cannot play with anyone's feeling like that. I thought we're friends! How could you do that to me?"_

_Enjolras blinked. He seemed to not understand what she was talking about. Nor what she was so mad about. He had never seen Eponine this mad and that's saying something because he always got to her nerves._

_"What…? What are you…? Oh!" he finally got it. He chuckled and Eponine glared at him. Was he laughing at her? What. An. Asshole. _

_God, she could not believe his guts. She could not believe that he was laughing at her right now._

_"You are a complete bastard!" she exclaimed dramatically. Tears threatened to fall but she held back. No, she was not going to give him the satisfaction of making her cry. She made her way to the door, to get out of his face and never see him again but he grabbed hold of her arm so she stopped in her tracks. She swatted his hand away, and huffed. She walked away from him, keeping her distance._

_"Ep, that 'bitch', was my cousin. She was in town and she wanted to see me. Are you really jealous because of that?"_

_If there was any time when Eponine wanted to dig herself a hole and bury herself in it, this was the exact time. She felt her face grew hot as she had never felt this ashamed of herself. She looked left and right, as if hoping that there was an escape. Enjolras was making his way towards her now and she felt like her brain had short-circuited. She opened and closed her mouth, trying to think of something witty to say to save her dignity but no words escaped her. So she kept it shut._

_Enjolras was standing right in front of her right now and she felt her heart beating fast in her chest. She could not think, she could not move and she was paralyzed. She looked down, her eyes on the floor but Enjolras cupped her chin and turned her face to look at him. His striking blue eyes were looking straight into hers, reading to depths of her soul. She felt vulnerable yet she did not care because it's Enjolras._

_His eyes however, while they used to always look calm and emotionless, now looked unsure. However, as he stared into her eyes, his uncertainty was replaced by a smug look on his face, which Eponine was tempted to kiss off._

_"You like me, don't you?"_

_Eponine could not help but to let out a laugh. She punched his arm playfully, but it was strong enough to cause him to wince._

_"Nice deduction, Sherlock." She smirked. Enjolras snorted but there was still a questioning look in his eyes, as if he thought that she was kidding._

_"I waltzed in here looking like a mad woman, crazy jealous because I thought your cousin was your girlfriend. And if you doubt my feelings for you, then God help me, I might have to ruin your pretty face by punching you."_

_Enjolras beamed, making him look so much younger, "You are scary when you're mad. And that was a pretty good punch. You're dangerous, Eponine Thenardier."_

_Eponine scoffed at his statement, "I am not dangerous, Enjolras."_

_"You are to me."_

_His voice hoarse and the next thing she knew, he pulled her closer to him, bringing their bodies together and their lips sealed in a kiss. She closed her eyes, moaning blissfully as she felt sparks flying. His kiss was fierce, desperate, and animalistic. It burned her like fire but instead of turning to ash, she felt like a Phoenix being born again. For the first time since forever, she felt alive. So damn alive. So she kissed him back, just as hungry as he was. Her arms snaked around his neck and she pulled him to her, deepening the kiss. All years of pent up frustrations and anger, they're finally together. Finally._

…

"Eponine? Are you okay?" her colleague, Sara, called, bringing Eponine out of her reverie. Eponine looked up and saw her. She was staring incredulously at her and she looked really concerned. How long had she been calling her? How long had she spaced out?

"Yes Sara, I'm okay. Is there something wrong?"

"There's a gentleman outside. He said he wanted to see you. I would just let come in but I have never seen him before." She murmured. Sara had always been a little paranoid.

But who would want to see her at this time? She turned to the door and saw Enjolras leaning against it. He smiled, making her heart melt. She introduced Sara to Enjolras and had to hold back a laugh when Sara kept gaping at him, mesmerized by his good looks. However, she could not help to snort when she found Enjolras fidgeting uncomfortably when she kept looking at him. His eyes pleaded her to do something.

"Alright Sara, goodbye." She uttered, pushing Sara (with a little difficulty) out the door.

"Hi." She said to Enjolras, closing the door behind her.

"Hi."

"Is there… is there something that I can help you with?" she asked, wondering why Enjolras would come all the way to her office to see her.

"No, I'm just wondering whether you would like to have lunch with me? I just feel like I haven't talked to you since we last… talked and I figured that maybe… you would want to have lunch with me…" he finished lamely. He mentally kicked himself for saying such lame things. What happened to the ever eloquent Enjolras?

Eponine knew that going to lunch with him could be quite a problem, especially when she had just been reminiscing their old memories. Old feelings started to take over but she could not stop herself to smile and accept his invitation.

"Sure, I'd love to."

**A/N**: I promise to keep the next chapter shorter and with plot development. I hope you won't give up on me!

Oh, and another thing, I am sorry if I don't write a lot about the other Amis. I have just started reading the book and I am yet to reach the Friends of ABC part. So, if you have any advice on how the Amis really is, or how some characters should be written, I would love to hear them. Or if you have any suggestions to make this story better, you can tell me. I would love to hear your views.

Anyway, thank you so much for reading!


	8. The One with Unrequited Love

Chapter 8: The One with Unrequited Love

He loved her with morbid intensity. He did not really know why. Perhaps it was because of her witty remarks that he enjoyed so much. Perhaps it was because of her fiery temper which he loved to try to cool down. Perhaps it was because she was one of his best friends who truly understood him. Perhaps it was because of her radiance that took him by surprise when he first laid eyes on her. He knew that she would be trouble for him but he was still attracted to her like a moth to a flame. He realized that he was going to get burnt but he went anyway. He fell in love with her, so deeply and hopelessly, and no matter how many times he tried to get her out of his mind, the thought of her stayed, just as stubborn as she was.

When she moved to another country without telling him, he was hurt. He hated knowing that he did not mean as much to Eponine as she was to him. Yet, he did not hate her. Even after all these years, he still loved her. His love for her burned yet it also soothed him. His love for her was strong that it crushed him. But all that did not stop him from falling deeper in love with her every single day. He knew that even though he had to go through his life never telling her how he felt, never kissing her, never calling her his, he would not think that loving her was a waste of time.

People would think that love as genuine and strong as the love that Combeferre had for Eponine would finally be rewarded in the end, which she would finally see him and loved him back but the bitter truth was some things were just not meant to be.

Combeferre took a sip of his tea and cringed. God, he hated tea. He preferred coffee. No, he liked coffee so much that he drank it when he's stressed, when he's unhappy, when he's trying to figure things out, when he's struggling with work, when he's thinking, when he's feeling like a mess and well, he drank coffee almost all the time. He was addicted to it and he knew that this was very unhealthy. Especially now that Eponine's back, he spent most of his time helping her sort things out at her apartment. His feelings for her were stronger than ever and that caused him to drink dangerously high amount of coffee. Now at nights, he could not sleep, because of both caffeine and _her_.

He supposed that he should get over her by now. And he thought he did. After two years not seeing her, he thought he was finally over her. The year after that, he did not think about her at all. Yet when he saw her at Musain with Marius, Cosette and Grantaire last week, the feelings came back. His feelings for her came back while they're supposed to be gone, disappear, vanished.

Truthfully, he was quite pissed at himself for still loving her. She went away without telling him even though they're friends and he spent 3 years of hell trying to forget about her. What's worse was he had to help his own best friend trying to get over the love of _his_ life. Yet, there she was at Musain, looking as beautiful as ever, a smile plastered on her face, making his heart flutter while he's trying to recover from the mind-numbing shock. He was glad that she's back but at the same time he was not excited about the hell he was going to put himself through as he fell in love with her again when she fell asleep on his shoulder that night. She was beautiful, even when she's asleep and it took everything he got to appear nonchalant, to hide the look of love in his eyes when he noticed Courfeyrac's suspicion.

Combeferre sighed as he took another sip of his tea. He cringed again, finally accepting the fact that he was not going to like tea at all. Fuck this, he needed his caffeine.

He was calling the waitress to order himself a cup of really, really black coffee when Courfeyrac came into the café. He was not alone though. Next to him was Evangeline Hunter, a pretty brunette whom Combeferre recognized as Cosette's colleague at her school. Cosette introduced Evangeline to their group about two months ago and she had been joining their group activities ever since. Combeferre figured that after Eponine had left, Cosette must have another girl friend to spend her time with. He could not imagine Cosette spending all her time with Grantaire, no matter how close those two were. He could not imagine Grantaire handling Cosette all day either. Eponine really was the glue to the trio, Combeferre thought.

Evangeline Hunter, who preferred to be called Eva, was a lot like Cosette. She radiated this sweet, demure and innocent vibe, which made some people think that they could step all over her. However, when dealing with people who got to her nerves, she was feisty and her words cut deep. Combeferre was pretty sure that Eva made a guy who tried to hit on her at Musain the other day cry, because of both sprained arm and her vicious words. None of them was quite sure about what happened but they figured that the guy was a total jackass so he deserved everything he got. Anyway, what's important was, they all learned that no one should mess with the young, adorable yet terribly dangerous Evangeline Hunter.

If only someone would tell that to Courfeyrac. Ever since Cosette introduced her to them, Courfeyrac and Eva had become inseparable. Combeferre knew that he was trying to get into her pants and he had seen Eva rejected Courfeyrac quite a number of times. However, what baffled him was Courfeyrac seemed relentless in getting to her. He wondered why. While he thought that Eva was really good-looking, she did not strike him as Courfeyrac's type. She was sweet yet mysterious, while Courfeyrac was used to women who wore their hearts on their sleeves. She wanted commitment while Courfeyrac was always about one night stands. She was sophisticated and intelligent and she made it clear to Courfeyrac that she only saw him as a friend. She was not one of those bimbos whom he could sleep with and never call back. Combeferre remembered Courfeyrac saying that he was okay with being friends but judging by his actions now, he knew that he had other tricks up his sleeves and he was not going to let Eva go easily. Seriously, what was up with Courfeyrac?

"Combeferre, hi! How are you? " Eva greeted at she reached his table. Combeferre looked up and smiled at her. His best friend followed Eva from behind and simply waved at him, his eyes looking around the restaurant for an empty table.

"I am doing well, thanks for asking." Combeferre replied, "I did not expect to see both of you here," he added. Eva grinned and turned to Courfeyrac.

"Courf and I always have our lunch here. This is my favourite restaurant. But it's a full house today, so we're going to have to go somewhere else. Where do you want to go, Courf?"

"I don't mind. Wherever you want, babe," Courfeyrac said dismissively, still glancing around the restaurant, hoping that he would find an empty table.

Combeferre raised a disbelieving eyebrow. Courfeyrac was the one man he knew who could be so fussy when it came to restaurants. He never let anyone choose the restaurant when he's with them. Courfeyrac loved restaurants so he knew every restaurant and cafe in town, which one to go for which occasion. Combeferre had never met anyone as picky as Courfeyrac but he was not going to complain. All of them trusted him in this, just like they trusted him when he became their wingman at bars, flirting with women. Courfeyrac knew his stuff and he never let anyone interfere with what he did best. However, now, he's letting Eva choose the restaurant she wanted to go. He had never done that with his friends whom he had known since college, not even with some of his girlfriends whom he dated for several months. Brushing away the feeling of indignity, Combeferre smirked and figured that he should mess with Courfeyrac a little bit.

"Why don't you join me?" he asked suddenly, "I am alone anyway. I don't mind some company. So what do you say?"

Eva's face lighted up. She tugged Courfeyrac's arm, telling him that they should join Combeferre for lunch. Courfeyrac managed to fake a smile but when Eva's not looking, he gave Combeferre one of his death glares and mouthed, "You cannot see me happy, can you?"

He took a seat next to Eva and went through the menu in silence while Eva chatted with Combeferre about her work at school. She told him about how sweet Courfeyrac was, how amazing he was with her students when he visited her at school. She had never been this happy and she was glad to have Courfeyrac as a friend. Combeferre had to suppress his laughter as he saw his friend's face turned to lovely shade of red.

Courfeyrac realized that Combeferre was smirking at him so he quickly called the waitress to place his and Eva's orders. The waitress seemed to be interested in him, judging by how she batted her eyelashes and flashed him her sweetest smile. However, much to Combeferre's surprise, Courfeyrac seemed to be oblivious about her attempts and dismissed her right after he ordered his food. Nonetheless, although Courfeyrac seemed to be unaware of the flirty waitress' advances, Eva was quite the opposite. She noticed that the waitress was trying to get Courfeyrac's attention and she seemed to be very bothered by it. Her cheery expression turned grave and Combeferre noticed that she clenched her fists as she took a deep, shaky breath.

After the waitress had gone, she quickly rose from her seat and uttered shortly, "I need to freshen up. I'll be right back."

"We'll be here." Courfeyrac said.

After Eva was gone, he turned to Combeferre.

"Oh come on man, why do you have to interfere with our lunch date? It's not cool!" he exclaimed, slamming his hand on the table. The old couple next to their table turned and scowled at Courfeyrac, who ignored them.

"Keep your voice down, Courf," he replied. "And… lunch date? You're dating Eva? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Dating? Who says anything about dating?"

"You just said lunch date…"

"… and you infer that as dating?" Courfeyrac scoffed. "No. Come on man, I had a really shitty day today and having lunch with her, talking to her, ALONE, always makes me feel a little bit better. Please, I'm begging you. Please leave us alone. Please, Combeferre, please." He pleaded desperately.

Combeferre had never seen him like this and that's when it occurred to him. His best friend was in love. Oh God, his best friend was in love, _finally_. Combeferre was really excited, so he did the first thing that every best friend did when they found out that their friend who was once a tom cat, was now a lovesick puppy.

He laughed hysterically.

… And he did not stop for the full five minutes. Courfeyrac looked really affronted that Combeferre did not take him seriously so he simply frowned and crossed his arms. He glared at Combeferre, waiting for him to finish laughing and when he finally did, Courfeyrac shook his head in disbelief, refusing to talk to him.

"Alright, I'm sorry. It's just… I have never seen you so smitten like this. You're in love with her, aren't you Courf?" Combeferre asked, grinning widely. Courfeyrac however, furrowed his eyebrows and looked at his friend as if he had gone crazy.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"What the hell am I talking about? I'm talking about you and Eva! You love her!"

"No I'm not. You love her." Courfeyrac retorted quickly and childishly. Combeferre's grin grew wider, irritating Courfeyrac even further.

"I am not in love with her, Ferre!" Courfeyrac almost shouted, being in complete denial. "No, don't do this to me! I am not in love with her! I am not! I cannot be!" he continued and he looked really frightened. He had never been in love before and truthfully, the thought of it scared him. He had seen what love did to people. His parents used to be happy, until his father fell in love with another woman and cheated on his mother. If the example from his parents was not enough, he had examples from his own friends. Eponine and Enjolras were in love once and look where it got them. And Marius and Cosette used to have crazy adventures together and look how domestic they had become now after years of dating. Courfeyrac did not want that. He could not be in love.

However, Eva was a great woman, the greatest woman he had ever met. He had never been more comfortable with anyone other than her. She was intelligent and kind, not to mention beautiful. Surely at first he only got close to her because he wanted to sleep with her but after some time, it turned into something more. She became a friend, a good one, the best one. And suddenly, every time he told her that she's beautiful, it wasn't just a compliment to get into her pants, he actually meant it. And suddenly, when he asked her out, he actually wanted to go on a date with her and still want to see her tomorrow. When she's with him, he felt comforted and happy. When she beamed at him, he could feel his heart beat faster. When other men look at her, he could not help but to feel jealous and possessive, as he quickly took her hand in his, refusing to let anyone get to her.

He would be lying if he said that he didn't know what this was.

"Courf, are you okay? You look pale." Combeferre eyed him with concern.

"I don't love her." he stated stubbornly and the finality in his tone was clear. Combeferre sighed. He knew that his friend had commitment issues but it never occurred to him that it was this bad.

"Courf, I know this is frightening for you and I am really sorry that I laughed at you earlier. But the truth is… being in love isn't that bad. Relationship isn't that bad. And Eva is a wonderful person. She makes you happy. So, don't let her go. Just ask her out, properly. Or just tell her how you really feel. Everything is going to be okay." Combeferre said kindly, trying to comfort his friend. However, his effort was not appreciated as Courfeyrac looked up and glared at him, mad.

"You are such a hypocrite for advising me to tell her about how I feel while all this time, you're scared to tell the girl you love about how you feel." Courfeyrac snapped.

Combeferre felt his jaw drop and for once, he was rendered speechless. He blinked, clearing his throat and finally uttered, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. How long have you been in love with Eponine?" Courfeyrac shoot the question that he had been meaning to ask since the night both of them went to Eponine's apartment. He's not an idiot. He had known Combeferre long enough to know that his friend was hiding something. He saw the way Combeferre looked at Eponine that night and he knew that Combeferre had never, ever looked at anyone the way he looked at her. And after that night, he realized that Combeferre had spent a lot of time with Eponine and he was sure that his best friend could hardly focus on his work. Moreover, he always looked distracted nowadays and Combeferre was never the one to get distracted, so this thing about Eponine must be serious. There were quite a few times when he almost missed their meetings but Enjolras simply brushed it off after seeing how tired Combeferre appeared. Even then, no matter how tired he was, Courfeyrac noticed how Combeferre would always dash to meet Eponine when it's time to see her. Courfeyrac was once Marius' roommate, so he knew how people act when they're madly in love and right now, Combeferre was acting the exact way Marius acted when he first fell in love with Cosette.

Combeferre fidgeted uncomfortably under Courfeyrac stare. Courfeyrac furrowed his eyebrows and observed his friend. A rush of worry and sympathy hit him when he saw how tired, solemn and sleep deprived Combeferre had become. Courfeyrac had been his friend for years now and never in his life had he seen him like this. Except… except for when Eponine and Enjolras announced that they're dating. But that was back in college.

"Oh my god, please do not tell me that you've been in love with her since college!" Courfeyrac exclaimed. He could not believe that he only found out about this now. Combeferre kept silent, proving that his guess was right. Combeferre buried his face in his hands and drew a shaky breath. He then looked up and faked a little smile, a smile which Courfeyrac knew hide tons of sadness.

"Ferre, why didn't you tell me?" he asked. His voice soft. He expected his friend to deny everything and he was prepared to refute whatever he had to say. But, his best friend simply shrugged, admitting defeat. He could not carry this secret alone anymore, so he decided to tell Courfeyrac about it.

"What's there to tell? I love her but she doesn't love me back. Never has, never will." Combeferre murmured sadly. His eyes were red and he looked exhausted.

"Ferre, it has been years. How can you… how can you still be in love with her?" Courfeyrac asked, sounding shocked. Seriously, how could anyone be in love that long?

"Well, if you actually allow yourself to admit that you're in love, you will learn that this kind of feeling doesn't go away that easily," Combeferre started, "But it is not a big deal. Really, it's not. So please, please do not tell anyone else." It's Combeferre's turn to plead now.

"But it is a big deal! You're in love with Eponine. _Our_ Eponine. I cannot believe you keep it to yourself all this time! And you're in love with her, even when she's dating _Enjolras_?!" Courfeyrac said, feeling sorry for his friend.

Silence fell. Both of them suddenly did not know what to say. However, a few moments later, Courfeyrac opened his mouth, as if to say something. His expression was serious. Combeferre prepared himself to hear Courfeyrac getting mad at him for falling in love with their best friend's girlfriend (well, technically ex-girlfriend but he was sure that Enjolras was not going to be happy with this news). He was ready to hear his own best friend telling him what a lousy friend he was and how he was disgusted by him. He was ready for Courfeyrac to tell him that he could not even look at him right now, just like Combeferre sometimes felt like he could not face himself.

"Why don't you ask her out?" Courfeyrac asked and his question caught Combeferre by surprise.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Combeferre exclaimed. However, he realized that people were looking so he lowered his voice and said, "Think before you say anything. This is Eponine we're talking about and Enjolras will kill me if…"

"… If you ask out his ex-girlfriend who broke up with him 3 years ago?"

Combeferre took a deep breath and sighed.

"Courf, nothing is ever that simple. You know how much Enjolras loved Eponine and you know how much she loved him. I cannot compete with that."

"That's because you never tried. Enjolras had his chance, Ferre, and he blew it. It's time for you to have yours! Forget about what Enjolras might think. Go after her!"

"How could you say that? Enjolras is our friend, Courf!" Combeferre uttered. He knew that Courfeyrac meant well but if he asked Eponine out, it would be like betraying Enjolras. He loved Eponine but he wasn't ready to lose his best friend.

"Enjolras is my friend and so are you, Ferre. As a friend, I want to see you happy. Eponine makes you happy. If Enjolras is your true friend, he will be okay with it. And I think he will."

Combeferre took a deep breath as he rubbed his temple. Everything was starting to get out of hand. In a way, Courfeyrac was right. He deserved to be happy and there's only one woman who could make him happy. Besides, he could not keep this to himself anymore. He'd go crazy. Perhaps if he confessed to Eponine about his feelings, maybe he could get some closure and stop wondering whether she would return his feelings. If she told him that she only saw him as a friend, perhaps he could stop hoping that they would eventually get together. However, how could he? He loved pretending that one day, she would love him back. It's one sick, twisted lie that he loved to tell himself. If all that were gone, he felt like he'd be left with nothing.

"So? Are you going to ask her out?" Courfeyrac suddenly asked. Combeferre looked up to him and shook his head.

"I don't know. I really, really don't know." He answered.

Courfeyrac did not say anything after that. He accompanied his friend in silence as he knew how much he needed that.

Combeferre was so deep in thought that he did not even realize that Eva had come back. He was only brought out of his reverie when Courfeyrac suddenly exclaimed, "Oh for the love of God!" as he glanced at the door of the restaurant. Combeferre followed his gaze and then felt like his heart had dropped to the floor, broken, shattered.

Entering the restaurant was Eponine and Enjolras, looking cheerful and… somehow, still so madly in love with each other. They did not realize that Combeferre, Courfeyrac and Eva was there, staring at them, shocked. Combeferre saw Enjolras leaned closer to Eponine and whispered something in her ears, making her giggle. She punched him playfully in his arm, making him wince but then beamed. They then stared into each other's eyes like there's no one else in the world but them. Courfeyrac whispered, "How the hell did that happen?" to Eva, who chose not to say anything because she was just as surprised as he was.

Courfeyrac turned his head and saw the hurt and disappointment in Combeferre's face. He reached out for his friend but Combeferre swatted his hand away.

"Ferre…"

"I gotta go. I'll see you at the office." He uttered quietly, his voice hoarse.

Everything was almost too much for Combeferre to take. Seeing Eponine and Enjolras together again and Courfeyrac staring at him, eyes filled with sympathy were too much for him. The man grabbed his coat, put the money on the table and said goodbye to both Courfeyrac and Eva. He hoped that he could get out of the restaurant unnoticed. There was only so much he could take and this was the last straw.

However, people could not always get what they wanted. Well, not Combeferre anyway. Just as he was about to get out, Eponine's gaze turned towards the door and saw him. She called his name, making him freeze on the spot. Reluctantly, he turned his head towards Enjolras and Eponine who were at their table and pretended that he was surprised to see them there. He smiled, but he could feel the muscles on his cheeks tensed. This was torture. At first, he contemplated to just wave and made it seem like he's in a rush or something but Eponine suddenly rose from his chair and made her way towards him.

"Ferre, what a coincidence!" she exclaimed as she hugged him tight.

"Well, yes. I just had my lunch with Courf and Eva."

"Oh they're here! I'll say hi later," Eponine smiled. However, her smile dimmed when she saw Combeferre up close and she started to look worried, "Hey, are you okay? You don't look so well," she uttered and put her palm on his forehead, checking if he had fever. Combeferre closed his eyes, trying to ignore how his heart started to beat fast when she touched him. He took her hand in his and said, "I'll be okay. You should get going. Enjolras is waiting for you."

The mention of Enjolras' name caused Eponine to crack a bittersweet smile. She turned towards Enjolras, and as much as Combeferre hated to admit it, he could tell that she still loved him. A twinge of hurt and frustration hit him and he really wished that he could just run away. He wished he could just run away and never looked back. As if it were, his feet were glued to the floor as he gazed at the woman he loved most.

"Enjolras and I… we're not back together. We're just having lunch, as friends," Eponine suddenly said, turning to face Combeferre. She then continued, "I'm sorry. I just think that I have to explain that to you, so you don't get the wrong idea."

Combeferre looked down at his feet. He did not really know what to say. He did not know why Eponine should tell him that but he wasn't going to sit around and ponder. He looked up and his eyes darted to Enjolras' table, where he found Enjolras watching them, waiting for Eponine to come back. Combeferre suddenly felt like he's in the way of two people who were truly in love with each other.

"I think I better go now." Combeferre said shortly and leaned to kiss her cheek. "Goodbye Ep."

…

As Combeferre walked back to his office, millions thoughts about Eponine dominated his mind. He hated how stubborn his heart could be when it came to her. His heart had been bruised, broken just by the thought of her never being his but when she smiled at him, or laughed at his jokes or leaned on his shoulder at night when they're watching a movie together, he could not help but to feel his heart revived and soared. The happiness that he felt, even for just a moment, meant everything to him.

However, pain was an inevitable thing. Pain, the one feeling that you could literally feel settling in the pit of your stomach, making your heart heavier altogether. Pain. That's what he felt when the love of his life fell in love with his best friend. Combeferre knew that it was unfair to put himself through this hell and he should move on there and then. But… he loved her. Damn, he fucking loved her. How could he just let her go? He was supposed to fight for her… but how? With just that, he knew that moving on, getting rid of the love he had for Eponine which had rooted deep in his heart, was not an option. The thought of letting her go suffocated him, constricted his chest until he felt like he could not breathe. So, no, moving on was out of the list.

Combeferre was called The Guide by his friends for a reason. When there came the times of trouble, he was the one who could come out with the most logical and rational solution. However, right now, even the Guide was confused and messed up. What's worse was he was the only one who could get himself out of this mess.

It was only the matter of whether he wanted to or not.

**A/N I feel like I am being a bit mean towards Combeferre and I swear to God, I don't hate him. I love him and I had a major Eppieferre feels when I was writing this. I can assure you that this is still an Enjonine story. I know I should stop adding Eppieferre but I cannot help it. Besides, there's going to be one more Eppieferre scene later in this story but that's wayyy later.**

**What do you think of Eva? Do you like her? I hope you do!**

**... and I imagine Lily Collins as her :)**

**So, tell me what you think. Leave reviews, they always make me want to write faster :D Anyway, have a good day everyone and I'll see you in the next chapter!**


	9. The One with the Bachelor (Part 1)

**Chapter 9: The One with the Bachelor (Part 1)**

It was a cold and drizzly morning in New York. A woman in dark green dress and tan trench coat was making her way to the coffee shop near her place. Her right hand was holding the umbrella to protect herself from the rain and the other was clutching her phone, typing a text furiously. She looked furious and quite frankly, pretty nervous.

Eponine woke up early this morning and received a text from her boss, saying that her co-worker, Lucy, who was supposed to conduct an interview with the famous millionaire Jesse Ashworth, had succumbed to fever and was now too sick to even get out of bed. As Eponine's boss could not reschedule the interview, he told Eponine who was utterly unprepared to take Lucy's place in conducting the most important piece that the company had ever done. He would not take no for an answer and although Eponine was always up for a challenge, this was a huge deal for her and she was scared that she might really screw things up.

She quickened her steps, trying to get rid of the frustration and anxiety that were building in her chest. She did not know how fast her pace was but the famous green logo of Starbucks was seen in the matter of minutes and her legs felt a little bit sore while her face was sweaty. Sighing, she walked ahead and stepped into the coffee shop.

It was still early but the place was already crowded. She glanced around and saw the person that she was looking for sitting at the table by the window, reading today's newspaper. He was wearing crisp black button down shirt with black slacks and dark blazer. His striking blue eyes were so engrossed in reading the newspaper that he did not realize Eponine's gaze on him. She smiled fondly. She loved seeing him wearing black on black. He was always so attractive but this outfit made him look even more beautiful. Eponine felt her annoyance towards her boss slowly ebbed away at the sight of Enjolras. She wondered why he still had this effect on her even after everything that happened between them.

She supposed that she was staring at him for quite a while because suddenly, she heard complaints from people behind her. As it turned out, she was blocking the entrance. Feeling a little bit ashamed, she cursed herself under her breath and strutted towards the counter where a friendly barista greeted her, ready to take her order. Eponine ordered herself a bagel and a latte and then made her way to Enjolras' table.

_It had been going on for two weeks now. At first, it started as lunch between friends who just wanted to catch up. Then, they started going out for dinner. The next morning, she called him and wondered whether he wanted to get breakfast together. Before they knew it, they fell into this comfortable pattern where they would meet every day to just chat and tell each other about their day. Both of them did not know what they just got themselves into but to them, what mattered most was that they could finally be in each other's company without feeling any awkwardness. Cosette, when Eponine told her about the situation with Enjolras, felt like they're just going back to the past and was very concerned. Cosette did not believe that Eponine and Enjolras could ever be friends, not after what they had been through. But what did she know? Eponine and Enjolras were friends now, good friends. At least, that's what they're forcing themselves to believe._

Enjolras did not hear her approach and only looked up after she had sat down and cleared her throat to announce her presence. He could not help but to feel his heart flutter when he saw her. He beamed.

"Hi."

"Hi."

"Anything interesting?" Eponine asked, gesturing to the newspaper. Enjolras only sighed and closed the paper that he was reading earlier.

"Nothing of importance,"

Eponine merely nodded and returned to her breakfast. However, she could feel Enjolras' eyes on her. The woman looked up and saw her friend staring at her, his eyes full of questions. Enjolras could tell that she was under a lot of stress, she knew it. She could not hide anything from him. Years of dating caused him to be able to read her better than anybody else.

"Anything you want to tell me?" he asked knowingly. Eponine sighed as she drank her latte. She contemplated about not telling him. After all, her problems were her business, not anybody else's but knowing Enjolras, she figured that he would not shut up until he squeezed the truth out of her. That was what made him a good lawyer; that annoying curiosity.

"We're doing this very important piece on Jesse Ashworth and my boss assigned me to it." Eponine murmured solemnly. She felt her heart beating rapidly against her chest again, her nervousness came rushing in, and the overjoyed look from Enjolras did not help at all.

"Congratulations!" he exclaimed happily. However, when he saw that she was not as excited as he was, he started, "Why? What's wrong? Why are you not happy?"

"I am just not sure whether I am up to it."

"What do you mean you are not up to it?"

"I am not sure whether I can do this. This is huge, Enjolras," she muttered, her voice small and shaky, "I have never covered anything this big before. I am not prepared. Hell, I just found out about it this morning! Now, I look like a total mess and I am so nervous, I think I am going to throw up. God, I am so afraid that I might screw this up!" She finished, clutching her stomach. She looked as pale as sheet and her hands trembling. She was hyperventilating, surprising Enjolras because Eponine was always calm, even when she's under a lot of pressure.

"Hey, hey, you are not going to screw up!" Enjolras reached out and took her hand in his. His grip tightened and Eponine felt her nervousness slowly disappearing. Her breathing went back to normal and she stopped trembling. Her eyes met his mesmerizing blue ones and again, she was left speechless. In a way, she loved that he still had this effect on her. When her mind was clouded by emotions and she could not think straight, his hand holding hers made everything clearer, calming her down. He gave her hope and courage; he made her believe in herself again.

Eponine then took a deep breath and cracked a little smile, assuring him that she was going to be okay.

"And by the way," he added, smiling impishly, "you don't look like a mess. You're beautiful."

Eponine chuckled and felt her face heating up. Seeing her laugh, Enjolras could not help but to grin widely. His thumb stroked her hand, loving how it still managed to make her shiver a little.

Both of them fell into such comfortable silence that it took them a while to realize that they were still holding hands and were gazing into each other's eyes. Enjolras was the one who noticed this first and when he did, he reluctantly let go of her, ignoring how he immediately missed the warmth of her hand. He cleared his throat and looked out of the window while she sipped on her latte, waiting for him to say something. Eponine could practically hear Enjolras' brain searching for topics to talk about to steer them away from this awkwardness.

"So, who is this Jesse Ashworth? Is he famous?" he asked out of the sudden.

Eponine raised an eyebrow and smiled wickedly. Trying to lighten the mood, she joked "And since when do you care about famous people?"

"Since two days ago," he answered shortly, his cheeks reddening as he remembered one of the most embarrassing moments that ever happened to him.

Two days ago, Enjolras, Eponine, Grantaire, Combeferre, Courfeyrac and Eva went to Marius and Cosette's house because Cosette finally let Marius use the kitchen and he was so excited that he invited everybody for dinner so that they could taste his cooking. Although they were so scared that they might get food poisoning, out of the spirit of friendship, they went anyway. While waiting for the dinner to be ready, all of them got together in the living room to watch the game on television. Courfeyrac kept rambling on and on to anyone who cared (Combeferre, Eponine and Eva listened intently but others were only half-listening) about Beyoncé's albums that Eva bought for him last week and how he's now a 'Bey', whatever that meant. Then, out of the blue, Enjolras asked them a question that no human in the right mind (or in this decade) would ever ask.

"Who the hell is Beyoncé?" he questioned innocently while his eyes were still watching the game on television. When he heard everyone suddenly became silent, he turned and seemed surprised to find that everyone was staring at him like he had lost his mind. He saw Combeferre and Eponine basically mirrored each other, with their jaw dropped and eyes widened because of shock. Courfeyrac, Eva and Marius appeared to be extremely offended while Grantaire and Cosette froze in the middle of the fight for the remote control. Nevertheless, his next question was the one that caused them to make fun of him all night long. He asked, "What? Is this Beyoncé famous or something?"

Eponine giggled at the memory of Combeferre saying unbelievingly to Enjolras, "Enjolras, even my grandmother knows who Beyoncé is and she's 80". However, her giggle turned into full on laughter when she recalled how Courfeyrac, Eva and Marius gave him cold shoulders for the rest of the night, offended that their group leader didn't know anything about their 'Queen Bey'. The morning after, when she was having her breakfast with Enjolras, Marius came all the way from his apartment to join them and gave Enjolras his full set of Beyoncé's albums, demanding him to listen to her. Eponine could barely contain her laughter now, tears fell from her eyes and her stomach was starting to hurt.

Enjolras seemed to be offended but then he saw how happy she was now and he could not bring himself to be mad at her. So he simply sighed and drank his coffee, looking out the window, waiting for her to stop laughing.

When she finally did, she saw that Enjolras was no longer looking at her. Suddenly, she was afraid that he might be angry at her for making fun of him. She tried to remain cool as she put on her most sincere smile and cooed, "Enjolras…"

He turned and found her grinning at him. He smiled back, indicating that he's not mad at her, which caused the brunette to breathe a sigh of relief. Enjolras then repeated his question earlier, "So, now will you tell me who Jesse Ashworth is?"

Eponine smiled apologetically and answered, "He's the head of Ashworth Corporation. A millionaire with the heart of gold, according to my boss. From what I've read about him this morning, I can conclude that he's quite brilliant. Graduated from Harvard with the highest honour, started to work with his dad and took over the company not long after. He's now a millionaire but he's really sweet and humble. He set up charity funds and helped lots of people to get back on their feet. I mean, that's just quite remarkable, don't you think?"

"Yes, it is."

"And to do all that before turning 30…" Eponine continued but stopped when Enjolras held up his hand, looking utterly surprised.

"I'm sorry. 'Before turning 30'? How old is this guy?"

"He's 29. He's turning 30 this year. Wait, I saved his pictures in here," Eponine said, unlocking her phone and searched the gallery. A frown formed on Enjolras' face. He felt uneasy about the fact that she had pictures of some 29-year-old stranger in her phone. He knew he shouldn't be worried or at all offended but he did so there's that.

"Here," she handed him her phone. He took it from her and was surprised to see how young Jesse Ashworth was, or how amazingly good-looking he was. Enjolras felt his heart grew heavier. His eyes darted back to Eponine who was looking at him expectantly. While he was excited for Eponine and her interview, right now, he was not exactly keen about her meeting Jesse Ashworth. Enjolras could not quite fathom his feelings right now. He was jealous and was suddenly so protective of her, but it started to hurt when he remembered that he did not have any right to feel this way.

"He's okay." He said stubbornly. Jealousy was clear in his tone, much to his dismay, but he was glad that Eponine did not comment anything about that. Eponine glanced at her watch and suddenly cursed. She rose from her chair, grabbed her phone from Enjolras' hand, said goodbye and almost ran towards the door, leaving Enjolras dumbfounded.

However, she stopped and made her way back to Enjolras to ask, "Want to have dinner together tonight?"

Enjolras simply snorted and reminded her of her plans this night "Ep, I am going out with the guys and you're going out with Cosette, Eva and Musichetta. Remember?"

"Oh shit, I forgot about that. Well, I guess… I'll see you around?"

"I'll see you around." Enjolras answered shortly.

Enjolras sighed as he watched her got into a cab and went away. He was battling a feeling that he could not quite comprehend. He had absolutely no right to be possessive and resentful but after spending so much time with her, he could not help but to think that she was still _his_ Eponine and he would do anything to protect her from any threat. Right now, he saw this Jesse guy as a threat (although he was more of a threat to him than to Eponine). He did not like the probability of Jesse flirting with her, especially when he could not do anything about it. Heck, he did not like the idea of them being in the same room. He had really bad feeling about this. He felt like something was going to go wrong. He felt like she was slipping away from him and no matter how tightly he held on to her, she's going to go away. This feeling made him sick to his stomach as it reminded him of what he thought about the night he and Eponine broke up.

No, Enjolras. No. You shouldn't feel this way. You're not allowed to feel this way, he told himself. Besides, this interview might be strictly professional and he actually had absolutely nothing to worry about. Eponine was not the kind of girl who would go for someone like Jesse. So, no, he had nothing to worry about. He was just overthinking everything again. Yes, he was just overthinking.

With that thought, he rose from his chair and made his way out of the coffee house, trying hard to shake off the sinking feeling in his heart which was telling him that he really _was_ going to lose her all over again and there was _nothing_ that he could do to stop it.

**A/N: So what do you think? Will Eponine ace this interview? Is something going to happen between Eponine and Jesse? Is Enjolras right when he feels like he's going to lose her?**


End file.
